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TENNESSEE 

HISTORY 

STORIES 



By T. C. KARNS 

Late Professor of Philosophy and 

Pedagogics in the University 

of Tennessee 



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B. F. Johnson Publishing Co. 

Atlanta RICHMOND Dallas 






|U3RARYof CONGRESS 

SEP. 8 lyui) 

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Copyright, 1904, by 

T. C. KARNS 



Preface 

It is now admitted that no history is of so much importance 
to children as that of their own State and country. They can- 
not well have too much information about either of these sub- 
jects, and in order to arouse the interest of the children of 
Tennessee in the history of their State, this book has been pre- 
pared. 

^o State has a history of more absorbing interest than Ten- 
nessee. Her people were among the first settlers west of the 
Alleghanies, and for this reason she bore in early times a unique 
relation to the rest of the country. Her sons struck a decisive 
blow for American liberty at King's Mountain. She was one 
of the first three States admitted to the Union. Moreover, she 
has always borne a prominent part in the affairs of the nation, 
and her soldiers and statesmen have been among its leaders. 
Her population has been made up mainly of plain people. She 
has developed less of the aristocratic element, perhaps, than any 
other State in the South. Hence, it is appropriate that these 
stories should be largely about the people — their customs, man- 
ners, and ways of living, especially in early times. 

The correct methods of using this book will suggest them- 
selves to every intelligent teacher. It may serve the purpose of 



6 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

a primary history of the State; or it may be used as a supple- 
mentary reader in the upper primary grades. After reading a 
story, the pupil should be required to repeat it orally or in writ- 
ten forni. All campaigns, expeditions, and voyages should be 
traced on the map. As the lessons proceed, it would be well to 
have the pupil fill out a skeleton map with all places mentioned 
in the stories. 

For my materials I am. of course, much indebted to the 
various writers of Tennessee history. To give credit in each 
case would be impracticable in a work of this character. 

The book is now submitted to the teachers of the State with 
the hope that it may prove a useful and efficient instrument in 
disseminating a broader and better knowledge of Tennessee his- 
tory and Tennessee people. 

T. C. K. 



Contents 

PAGE 

A Look at the Land 9 

The First Inhabitants u 

How the White People Came 21 

Spanish and French in Tennessee 25 

Old Fort Loudon 29 

"Traders and Hunters ^ 3 

The Settlement of Watauga 37 

New Homes in the Forest 41 

Robertson at Watauga 43 

The Coming of Sevier 50 

Catherine Sherrill 54 ' 

The Tennessee Pocahontas : 57 

The First Battle of Chickamauga GO 

Fighting the Invader Gt} 

The First Teacher 73 

The State of Franklin 7t > 

About Some Curious Money 89 

Sevier as an Indian Fighter °4 

Hunting and Exploring on the Cumberland 96 

Settling Middle Tennessee " 

How the Fleet Came to French Lick 105 

Getting Powder and Saving the. Fort li4 

Fighting Indians and Making Laws 1 * ' 

Life in the Cumberland Settlements 12 ° 

A Boy with "Nine Lives" l2 ' 

The Coldwater Expedition 13 ° 

I .jo 

The Bi-owns Captured by Indians lo ° 

William Blount and His Government u4 

Attack on Buchanan's Station ll0 

The Prophecy Fulfilled 153 

Admitted to the Union ] r ^ 7 

In the Tennessee Wilderness 161 



8 TENXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

PAGE 

Pioneer Preachers and Churches 165 

Boyhood of Jackson 168 

Witches and their Ways 173 

Some Heroic Women 176 

Early Growth of the State 179 

The Creek War - 182 

General Jackson at New Orleans 195 

Sam Houston 210 

Hunting Game 216 

Old Time Traveling 219 

Davy Crocket as a Boy 226 

An "Old Field" School 229 

-The Boyhood of a Great Ship Captain 232 

The Settlement of West Tennessee 235 

Frontier Sports and Pastime 240 

Killing His First Bear 244 

Davy Crockett as a Bear Hunter 248 

Some Curious Mouse Catchers 256 

President Polk and the Mexicam War 259 

Our Tailor President 263 

More about Sevier 270 



Tennessee History Stories 



A Look at the Land 

Tennessee is in the southeastern part of the United 
States. It extends from the Smoky Mountains on the 
east to the Mississippi river on the west, It is much 
larger in this direction than from north to south. If one 
looks at it on the map, its shape makes him think of a 
little boy's coasting sled. 

To the north of Tennessee lies Kentucky with its blue- 
grass pastures and its fine horses and cattle. It was the 
"Dark and Bloody Ground' ' settled by Daniel Boone. 
East of Cumberland Gap, the northern border of 
Tennessee touches Virginia,. Many Tennesseans came 
from the Old Dominion, as Virginia is often called. 

Beyond the great mountains on the east lies North 
Carolina, the mother State of Tennessee. She is some- 
times called the Old North State. From this State Ten- 
nessee received her government, her laws, and her civili- 
zation. It was from North Carolina that many of her 
people came, and for many years the land that is now 
Tennessee formed a part of that State. 

On the south lie the three sister States of Georgia, 
Alabama,, and Mississippi, white with fields of cotton. 
Each was the home of Indian tribes, of which you will 



10 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

learn more in future chapters. From the western bor- 
der of our State we cross the great Mississippi river 
into Arkansas and Missouri, which have been largely 
settled by people from Tennessee. 

The rivers of southwestern Virginia and western 
North Carolina come together in East Tennessee. Fol- 
lowing these streams the first emigrants from these 
older States united in like manner, and formed settle- 
ments on the Watauga, the Nollichucky, and the Hol- 
ston. 

At the time of the first settlements, much of the State 
was covered with thick forests. These were full of deer, 
bears, })anthers, and other wild animals. Some parts 
were grassy plains over which vast herds of buffaloes 
roamed. In other places the land was covered with pea 
vines and wild flowers. Along the streams were dense 
growths of cane. Every kind of game was abundant. 
This had been the hunting ground of the Indians for 
untold ages. 

The- Great Smokies are the most lofty mountains in 
Tennessee. On top of the Great Roan the air is cool in 
the hottest days of summer. Visitors at the hotel find 
comfort in roaring wood fires, while people in the val- 
leys below are seeking shelter from the burning sun. 

Sometimes the tops of the mountains are called Cloud- 
land. This is because the clouds, in passing over from 
Tennessee to North Carolina, strike the mountains and 
sweep through the green fields like great stagecoaches. 

These mountains seemed to shut off the first emigrants 




Settlers passing through the Great Smoky Mountains 



12 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

from the new western lands that lay beyond. Yet after 
a while they found a way through the deep gorges which 
had been cut by the rivers. Much of the mountain coun- 
try is still wild and thinly settled. 

Here and there are rich coves, or valleys, shut in by 
mountain walls. These are thickly inhabited, and are 
noted for their quiet seclusion and great fertility. John 
Mitchell, the Irish patriot and exile, once lived in Tucka- 
leechee cove. The coves are somewhat like the famous 
valleys of the Swiss Alps, though the climate is milder. 

From the heights of the Great Smokies, Daniel Boone 
and other hunters and explorers first saw the beautiful 
valley of East Tennessee. It lay spread out before them 
like a map, and in the dim distance earth and sky seemed 
to meet. 

The country is made up of parallel ridges and minor 
valleys. Every little valley has a stream of clear water 
fed by crystal springs, which burst from the hills on 
either side. Here the first settlers built their homes. 

The Cumberland Mountains lie next on the west. They 
form a broad plateau. On this plateau are numerous 
farms; and horses and cattle now feed where herds of 
wild deer once grazed. For a long time these moun- 
tains formed a dread wilderness through which emi- 
grants must pass in reaching the Cumberland settle- 
ments. 

In Middle Tennessee we have left the mountains be- 
hind. Now we find a gently rolling land, which has been 
aptly called the garden spot of the State. It is still noted 



A LOOK AT THE LAND 13 

for its fertility, as in the days of Robertson and the first 
settlers on the Cumberland. But its herds of buffaloes 
have been exchanged for some of the finest Jersey cattle 
and the fleetest horses in the world. 

The lowlands of West Tennessee, wise men tell us, 
are of the latest formations. To a great extent they are 
' ' made lands, ' ' reclaimed by the great river from the 
Gulf of Mexico. In like manner they were the last in 
the State to be settled. Their great forests and dense 
canebrakes were the paradise of hunters like Davy 
Crockett. Now they are the fertile fields and the happy 
homes of a prosperous people. 



14 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The First Inhabitants 

Every boy and girl who reads this book has heard of 
the Indians. They owned this country before the white 
people came and took it from them. They are some- 
times called red men on account of the color of their 
skin. 

The first settlers of Tennessee found the Indians oc- 
cupying the beautiful lands which we now possess. 
They lived in certain parts of it and the rest was used 
as hunting ground. How long they had been here and 
where they came from nobody has ever been able to tell. 
The Indians themselves did not know. 

The red men did not live as we do now. They had no 
churches, no schools, no fine houses, and no great cities. 
Their dwellings were rude huts or tents made of poles, 
on which were stretched the skins of animals or the bark 
of trees. 

The Indians got their living chiefly by hunting game 
in the gloomy forests or on the grassy plains, where wild 
turkeys, deer, buffaloes, and other animals were to be 
found in abundance. Beans, squashes, and maize, or 
Indian corn, were also used as food. These things were 
raised by the squaws, or Indian women, in little patches 
of ground near their homes. All the hard work fell to 
the lot of the women. 

The Indians learned from the white people how to 



THE FIRST I Y HA J! I TA Y TS 15 

grow peaches and melons, and to keep swarms of bees, 
which gave them large supplies of delicious honey. They 
ate mussels from the livers as we do* oysters. Great 
heaps of these shells show where "kitchens," or 
' ' bakes, ' ' were located. A heap of this kind on the Ten- 
nessee river below Chattanooga has given to the rail- 
way station the name of Shellmound. 

When on the warpath, the Indians carried pouches of 
parched corn. They also killed or captured such game 
as chanced to come in their way. Their women ground 
corn in a kind of mortar and prepared it for food in al- 
most as many ways as we do. Hominy is an Indian 
dish and an Indian name. So also is succotash, a mix- 
ture of com and beans boiled when in the green state. 

The government of the Indians was very simple. They 
were banded together in tribes, each ruled by a chief. 
The tribe was like a large family, and most of its mem- 
bers were related to each other. The chief was noted for 
his warlike character and his great bravery. 

The towns of the Indians were located on the banks 
of rivers, where fish were plentiful and where the lands 
were fertile. Their hous&s were not placed near each 
other as ours are in cities. Plenty of space was left for 
gardens and other conveniences. The principal town 
contained the residence of the chief, which was some- 
what larger than the other huts. The great council house 
also stood near by. 

To the Indians, war seemed to be a natural state. War 
and hunting occupied most of their time. Thev were 



16 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

very cruel to their enemies. Prisoners of war taken by 
them were sometimes bound to a stake and burned. They 
generally scalped those whom they slew in battle. The 
man of greatest honor among them was he who carried 
most scalps hanging at his belt. 

The Indians never forgot an injury. If anybody 
killed one of their friends they would travel hundreds, 
or even thousands, of miles to avenge his death. No 
hardship was too severe in carrying out what, to them, 
was a sacred duty iii such a case. They also remem- 
bered a kindness, and they sometimes put the white peo- 
ple to shame in this respect. 

The Indians made canoes by burning down trees and 
hollowing them out with fire. They guided the fire by 
scraping away the charred wood with stone scrapers 
and stone axes. After the white people came, they fur- 
nished the Indians with better tools of every kind. 

The religion of the Indians was very crude; and yet 
they believed in a Great Spirit, who spoke to them, as 
they thought, in the roar of the tempest and in loud peals 
of thunder. The Great Spirit was to them the giver of 
all good. He had a prophet in the tribe through whom 
he spoke his will to the people. His power was even 
greater than that of the chief, or head man of the tribe. 
Sometimes a woman held the position of prophet, as in 
the case of Nancy Ward, about whom you will read in 
this book. There was also an evil spirit, the Indians 
said, who spoke through witches and bad people. 

The Indians had a vague idea of a future life. They 



TEE FIRST IT? HABIT A \TS 17 

thought that brave warriors lived again in happy hunt- 
ing grounds after death. These were far away in the 
islands of the southern seas. There the phantom war- 
riors were supposed to spend eternity pursuing the buf- 
faloes and deer of the spirit land. 

II 

The Cherokees were the Indians who gave the Ten- 
nessee settlers most trouble. Of their many cruel deeds 
you will learn in future chapters. 

Like all other Indians, the Cherokees had no recorded 
history. One of their old legends was that their ances- 
tors came from east of the great mountains. Another 
was that they came from the far west. The fact that 
they had in their language words referring to the whale 
and other ocean monsters shows that they must have 
once lived on the seaeoast. 

After the manner of all primitive peoples, the Chero- 
kees also had some very fanciful ideas as to their origin. 
Those who were poetically inclined said that the first 
Cherokees dropped from the clouds which hover around 
the summits of the Great Smoky Mountains. Others 
said that their ancestors came up out of the mountains 
themselves, somewhat, I suppose, as a mushroom springs 
from the ground during the night. Of course, neither 
of these two stories could possibly be true. 

The Cherokees were divided into the mountain In- 
dians and the lowland Indians. Those of Tennessee 
were the mountaineers. They lived on the Tellico and 
Little Tennessee rivers. 



18 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The Chickaniaugas were a branch of the Cherokees, 
intermixed with the Creeks and Shawnees. They lived 
along the south bank of the Tennessee river near Look- 
out Mountain and below. They were a sort of pirate or 
bandit tribe. They often sallied forth into the settle- 
ments and did great mischief. Then they would retire 
into their mountain gorges and caverns, where the whites 
could not reach them. 

The lowland Indians lived on the southeast side of the 
Great Smoky Mountains. Their homes were along the 
mountain streams and around the headwaters of the 
Savannah river. These places are in what is now the 
upper part of North Carolina and Georgia. 

The Cherokees were at their greatest power about the 
time the white explorers first reached them. They then 
had sixty-four towns and six thousand warriors. The 
entire population has been variously estimated at from 
twenty to sixty thousand. On the earliest maps the Ten- 
nessee river was called the Cherokee. The Smoky Moun- 
tains were also called the Cherokee Mountains. 

The Cherokees, being a very warlike people, made 
war upon other Indians as well as upon the white race. 
They said they could not live without war. In early 
times both the Creeks and the Shawnees were driven 
out of what is now Tennessee by the Cherokees. They 
helped the English take Fort Du Quesne (doo kain'). 
Old Fort Loudon was captured by them. Almost con- 
stant war was made upon the white settlers by this tribe. 

The Cherokees had many great chiefs. They had a 



TEE FIRST IX E ABIT ANTS 19 

tradition of a chief named Bullhead. He was a great 
leader and conqueror before the white settlers came. He 
gained his greatest fame in a war with the Creeks. 

One of the greatest leaders of the Cherokees in their 
wars against the whites was Oconostota (o con os to'ta). 
In early life he made a trip to England and visited 
George II at his palace in London. The Cherokee nation 
is said to have declined after Oconostota 's day. 

There was also Atta-kulla-kulla,, the vice-king and 
noted orator among the Cherokees. He it was who saved 
Captain Stuart's life in the taking of old Fort Loudon. 
He was generally friendly toward the white people. 

In the land of the Cherokees, as in other parts of the 
country, large mounds of earth are found. Many of 
them have been opened by learned men who wished to 
discover the reason for their existence. In most cases 
they are found to contain human bones. This shows that 
they were generally used for burial purposes. With 
these bones are flint arrowheads, stone hatchets, and 
other implements. When an Indian was buried, his weap- 
ons for war and hunting, and sometimes even his dog, 
were placed in the gravs with him. This was because 
his friends thought he would need these things in the 
spirit land, or the happy hunting grounds, where war- 
riors were supposed to go after death. 

And still "the wise men cannot tell who built the 
mounds. The Indians are reported to have said that 
they did not do it. They claimed that their fathers found 
these things here when they first came into the country. 



20 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

It may be that other nations once held the land and left 
these monuments. If they did, they were not much fur- 
ther advanced in civilization than the Cherokees. 

The Cherokees had but little civilization. They made 
a rude pottery, in which they heated water for cooking 
purposes by dropping hot stones into it. They made 
very good baskets of cane, which they sold to the white 
settlers. They were quite skillful with the bow, and long 
after their painted warriors had passed away, little In- 
dian boys could be seen on the streets of our cities show- 
ing their ability to hit a silver dime at ten paces. 

The Shawnee Indians once lived along the banks of 
the Cumberland river near its mouth. This was at the 
time the French explorers and traders visited the coun- 
try. The Shawnees were a wandering people, and long 
before they were found by the French, at least a part of 
the tribe dwelt on the Savannah river far to the south. 
It has even been said that they once lived as far east as 
Virginia. They were driven away from the Cumberland 
at an early date by the Cherokees and the Chickasaws. 

The Chickasaws had their hunting grounds in what is 
now West Tennessee. Their homes were further to the 
south, and mainly in northern Mississippi. They were 
generally friendly to the English-speaking race. A 
small tribe of lichees once lived near the mouth of the 
Hiwassee river, but they were destroyed by the Chero- 
kees. 

How many boys and girls have seen anything that was 
left in this country by the Indians? Every little boy 






THE FIRST INHABITANTS 21 

who lives on a farm has certainly picked up flint arrow- 
heads in his father's fields. These are found all over 
the country, and were lost by the Indians when they 
were out hunting game. The longest one that you 
found may have killed a deer. How different the coun- 
try around your home must have looked at that time ! 

You all know that after the first few frosts in the fall 
of the year there are several warm days, when the air 
seems filled with smoke. It used to be said that this was 
caused by the Indians, who were burning off the leaves 
to get chestnuts. We now know that this was not true, 
for " Indian Summer" comes as regularly as ever, but 
there are now no Indians here to burn off the leaves. 



22 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



How the White People Came 

As you all know, America was not the first home of 
the white race. In earliest times the white people lived 
in Asia. Then many of them went over into Europe. 
After they had spread over all that part of the world 
they began to cross the Atlantic ocean to America, 

After Columbus discovered this country it took a long 
time to settle it. Nearly everybody who came over at 
first was hunting for gold or seeking some kind of ad- 
venture. Many of the first settlers were disappointed 
and went back home, and sometimes the settlements were 
broken up. 

It took a long time to find out just what America was. 
Everybody thought at first that it was a part of Asia, 
and Columbus himself shared this belief during his life- 
time. He died a disappointed and much-abused man, 
because he failed to find the riches of the Indies, which 
tiie country was supposed to contain. 

AVhen the kings of the European countries found out 
that a "New World" had really been discovered, they 
laid claim to all the land on the ground that navigators, 
whom they had sent out, explored certain parts of the 
coast. The rights of the Indians were never considered. 

The next step was to divide the country up and hand 
it out, so to speak, just as a big pie is cut up and handed 
out at dinner. The kings gave most of it to their favorite 



HOW THE WHITE PEOPLE GAME '23 

courtiers or to big trading companies. Even the Pope, 
the head of the Roman Catholic Church, gave away 
great slices. In fact, he at first claimed the right to give 
it all away. 

Queen Elizabeth of England was the first to dispose of 
Tennessee. She gave it to her favorite courtier, Sir 
Walter Raleigh, in 1584. You have doubtless heard how 
Sir Walter once pleased the queen by throwing down 
his fine cloak for her to walk upon when she had to cross 
a muddy place in the streets of London. This, was pos- 
sibly one reason why she gave him such a princely es- 
tate. Of course, the queen did not know that she was 
giving Tennessee to Sir Walter, for it was only an un- 
known part of the "heathen and barbarous land" that 
he was authorized to take possession of. Strange to say, 
the queen's wonderful gift was of no value to Raleigh 
whatever. He made a settlement on the coast of North 
Carolina, but it was soon abandoned. It may be well to 
remember that Virginia Dare, the first white native, of 
our country, was born in this colony. 

The kings of England continued to give away land in 
the "New World," and people kept coming over and 
going back with exciting accounts until the country was 
finally settled for good. How often Tennessee was given 
away in the meantime it would be hard to tell, yet we 
know that she was first a part of Virginia, but was cut 
off with Carolina in 1663. Thirty years later the latter 
was divided into North and South Carolina, in the 
former of which Tennessee remained. So our State may 



24 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

be called the great-granddaughter of the Old Dominion. 

The first English settlement in America that was not 
abandoned was made at Jamestown, in Virginia. This 
was in 1607, one hundred and fifteen years after America 
was discovered. From this little beginning, one settle- 
ment after another was made, until, about one hundred 
and twenty-five years after the first settlement, there 
were thirteen rather populous English colonies along 
the Atlantic coast. 

The parts of the land by the sea and along the great 
rivers were naturally settled first. As more land was 
wanted, emigrants went further up the rivers and set- 
tled the higher lands. The work was very slow at first. 
It took more than one hundred and fifty years to people 
all the country east of the Alleghany Mountains. 

The Scotch-Irish had come over from Ireland in great 
crowds and settled all along the eastern slopes of the 
great mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. They 
were hardy and brave. They made good pioneers, hunt- 
ers, and Indian fighters. 

A little before the time of our Revolutionary "War, the 
country was settled pretty thickly as far as the foot of 
the mountains. The pressure soon became so great that 
waves of population began to flow over. The Scotch- 
Irish pioneers and men like Daniel Boone felt the need 
of more elbowroom, and they sought new hunting 
grounds and new homes beyond the mountains. 



SPAXIXH AND FRENCH IX TENNESSEE 25 



Spanish and French in Tennessee 

The first white people to enter the present boundaries 
of Tennessee were the Spaniards under De Soto, about 
1540 or 1541. They passed through the lands of the 
Cherokee Indians. This fact, with certain names and 
descriptions of places that they reported, has made some 
people think that they entered lower East Tennessee. 
Anyway, there is little doubt that De Soto touched the 
State at the site of the present city of Memphis. On ac- 
count of his exploration the Spaniards for a long time 
claimed the southern part of the United States, includ- 
ing a part of Tennessee. 

De Soto and his Spaniards had lain in their graves for 
more than a hundred years before other Europeans 
came. In 1673 Marquette (mar ket') and Joliet ( zho 
le a'), two French explorers from Canada, passed down 
the Mississippi on a voyage of discovery. They thought 
the great river would carry them into the Pacific ocean. 
The Chickasaw Bluffs at Memphis were seen and de- 
scribed by them. They turned back at the mouth of the 
Arkansas river. 

Nine years later, La Salle (la sal), another French ex- 
plorer, floated down the Mississippi to the Gulf of 
Mexico. On his way he built a cabin and a fort at the 
Chickasaw Bluffs. These were the first house and fort 
built in Tennessee. La Salle took possession of the 



26 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

country in the name of the French monarch, Louis XIV, 
and in his honor called it Louisiana. 

The French then claimed all the Mississippi Valley. 
New Orleans and other places were settled by them. In 
order to hold this territory, they built a chain of forts 
from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. They also estab- 
lished posts where they could trade with the Indians. 
In 1714 they fixed a trading post at the present site of 
Nashville. 

In the meantime the English began to bestir them- 
selves. They also had claimed the Mississippi Valley 
from the earliest times, and were unwilling to be con- 
fined to the little strip of land east of the Alleghany 
Mountains. So they sent Sir Archibald Cummings in 
1730 to make a treaty with the Cherokees. The Indians 
agreed to help the English in opposing the French. In 
token of this they sent to the king of England a crown 
with five eagle feathers and four human scalps. 

English settlers were crowding up into the mountains 
from the eastern colonies. Traders and hunters had al- 
ready crossed over and made their way along the East 
Tennessee valleys. Dr. Thomas Walker came from Vir- 
ginia in 1748 to explore the land. He passed through 
Cumberland Gap and far beyond into the wilderness of 
Kentucky. He named Cumberland Gap, Cumberland 
Mountains, and Cumberland river in honor of the Duke 
of Cumberland. 

AYhen English explorers passed over to the western 
side of the Alleghanies arid drank at a spring or a stream 



28 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

they said they had tasted French waters. This was be- 
cause the French claimed all the land of the Mississippi 
Valley as far as the head of the mountain streams. 

Our beautiful French Broad river got its name in this 
way. An explorer came up from the Carolinas by the 
head waters of the Broad river, which were owned by 
the English. Passing over the mountains, he came upon 
a similar stream. This he called the French Broad. 

The struggle between the French and the English still 
went on. There were periods of peace, but these two 
nations' had as many as four wars in colonial times. The 
fourth and great struggle began in 1754. It was called 
the French and Indian War, as you will learn from the 
study of United States history. It was to decide the 
ownership of the great Mississippi Valley. To help 
hold the Tennessee country against the French, the Eng- 
lish in 1756 built Fort Loudon. 

In the first period of the war the Cherokee Indians 
favored the English. They helped them to take Fort 
Du Quesne from the French, but on the way home they 
got into a difficulty with some Virginians, by whom a 
number of their warriors were slain. This made them 
enemies to the English and led to the capture of Fort 
Loudon. 

The great struggle between the English and the 
French ended in 1763. The French were beaten and 
surrendered to the English the beautiful country east of 
the Mississippi river. Thus it was decided that Ten- 
nessee should become English instead of French. Can 
you imagine how it might have been if the victory had 
gone the other way? 



OLD FORT LOUDON 29 



Old Fort Loudon 



Old Fort Loudon is noted in Tennessee history. It 
was the first structure erected by English people within 
the State. It stood on a bluff on the south bank of the 
Little Tennessee river only half a mile above the mouth 
of the Tellico. Fading lines of earthwork and some 
crumbling stones are still to be seen on the old site. In- 
side of the lines is an old well which gave water to the 
fort. These are now the only remains of this first out- 
post which our forefathers planted in the wilderness of 
Tennessee. 

In 1756 the Earl of Loudon was governor of 
Virginia, by appointment of the king of England. He 
had command of the military forces, and thought the 
building of a fort necessary to protect his frontier and 
control the Indians, who were in danger of being won 
over to the support of the French in the great struggle 
then going on. So- he sent Andrew Lewis to build a fort 
in the heart of the Cherokee nation. It was named Fort 
Loudon after the Virginia governor who ordered it to 
be built. 

For a time after the fort was built, the Indians were 
quite friendly. Reports were carried back to the old 
colonies that the new land was very fertile and the cli- 
mate delightful. This brought a crowd of settlers from 
Virginia and North Carolina, and quite a village sprang 
up around the new fort. 



30 TEXXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

You must not think of this fort as having high walls 
of stone like the castles of Europe. It was, on the con- 
trary, quite a crude affair. A line of earthworks was 
thrown up around four or five acres of ground. Upon 
the top of this, heavy timbers were set on end to form a 
wall perhaps ten or twelve feet high. At suitable places 
along this stockade cannon were planted. Inside the 
stockade cabins were built for the settlers. 

As has been stated, the Indians were friendly at first. 
In fact, the fort had been built by their consent. After a 
while, as the settlers kept coming in and the number of 
armed men increased, the savages became jealous. It 
is probable also that the French had something to do 
with making them unfriendly to the English, and their 
encounter with the Virginians in returning from the cap- 
ture of Fort Du Quesne doubtless made them even more 
hostile. Before two years had passed the Indians began 
to be very sulky. They were not so ready to bring corn 
and venison to the people in the fort. The old warriors 
had a gram look, and the settlers around the fort thought 
it best to sleep inside the walls at night. Matters finally 
settled down to a regular siege. 

Fort Loudon was so very far from the old settlements 
that no help could be had from that source. As has been 
indicated, it was alone in the heart of the wilderness, 
and was the only English post west of the Great Smoky 
Mountains. There were no roads, and, of course, nobody 
ever traveled that way. It was therefore difficult to 
carry news of the sad plight of the fort and the great 






OLD FORT LOUDON 31 

need for help to the settlements in Virginia and North 
Carolina. Messengers were sent out, but before they 
got far the Indians killed them, or captured them and 
brought them back. The savages watched so closely 
that it was difficult to leave the fort without being seen, 
even at night. 

Matters went from bad to worse until 1760, when the 
food in the fort was nearly all gone. For a whole month 
the people had little to eat but the flesh of their horses 
and dogs. They would have fared still worse had it not 
been for some friendly Indian women. These women 
stole in by a secret passage at night with a small supply 
of beans. Nancy Ward, who was always the friend of 
the white race, no doubt had much to do* with this kind 
deed. 

At length the people in the fort began to despair. The 
savages had become so hostile that an attack might be 
made at any time. Little hope of relief from home was 
left. They were slowly dying of starvation. Each day 
as the sun rose over the blue mountains their fate seemed 
to grow darker and more hopeless. 

Finally a council was' held, and it was agreed that 
they could do no more than give up the fort and trust 
themselves to the mercy of the Indians. Captain Stuart 
was sent to Chota to ask for terms. This town wasv 
about five miles up the river from the fort. It was the 
capital, and contained the council house in which the 
Indians decided all great questions. Captain Stuart 



32 



TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



had many friends among the Indians, and it was sup- 
posed that he could make the best terms. 

In due time Captain Stuart returned with the treaty. 
By the terms of this treaty the people of the fort were 
allowed to go back free to their friends in Virginia or 
the Carolinas. They could take their guns and other 
things necessary for the journey, and Indian hunters 
were to go along and kill such game as was needed on 
the march. The sick were to be cared for in the Indian 
towns. The fort, with its cannon, extra guns, powder, 
and ball, was to be turned over to the Indians. 

To the poor, half-starved people these terms seemed 
very liberal, and they inarched out happy in the belief 
that their troubles would soon be over. Although the 
treaty had been signed by two chiefs only, the whites 
did not expect any treachery on the part of the Indians. 

Rejoicing over their good fortune, the settlers decided 
to go to Fort Prince George, in the Carolinas. The first 
day's march was directed towards the Great Smoky 
Mountains, and the party encamped for the night near 
a little Indian town on the Tellico plains. This spot is 
now in Monroe county. 

The next morning about daylight a large body of In- 
dians fell upon them and slaughtered men, women, and 
children. But few escaped. Two or three hundred 
were slain. It is said that the Indians afterwards made 
a fence of their bones. This was the end of Old Fort 
Loudon and of the first attempt to make an English set- 
tlement in Tennessee. 



TRADERS AXD HUNTERS 33 



Traders and Hunters 

Years before the first settlement in Tennessee soli- 
tary white men visited the Indian country for the pur- 
pose of trading with the savages. The Indians wanted 
rifles, and knives and hatchets made of steel, but they 
had no money to buy them. So the white men agreed 
that the Indians could pay for them with skins and fine 
furs which had been taken in the chase. Tins pleased 
the Indians so very much that, when not at war, they 
spent most of the time hunting. As a result great piles 
of deer hides and bear skins and the fine furs of the ot- 
ter, the beaver, and other animals were offered in trade. 

The traders were also pleased with the turn of affairs, 
since for one gun they could buy from the Indians 
enough fine furs to bring several hundred dollars in the 
markets of Charleston, Philadelphia, New York, and 
other eastern cities. 

These traders often lived many months, or even years, 
at the Indian towns, far away from their own people. 
They learned much about the habits and customs of the 
Indians, and often were able to give the white people 
notice when the savages were getting ready to go to war 
against the settlements. They finally sold many other 
kinds of goods besides guns and knives. Two of the 



34 



TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



most noted traders among the Tennessee Indians were 
Doherty (about 1690) and Adair (about 1730). 

In the course 
of t i m e, when 
the settlements 
were nearer to 
the Indian coun- 
try, the traders 
learned to be 
hunters them- 
selves. You 
have all heard of 
Daniel Boone, 
the great ex- 
plorer, who set- 
tled Kentucky. 
Nothing pleased 
him more than to 
make long jour- 
neys through the 
wilderness, 
where he could 
hunt game and 
fight Indians. 

Boone came 
into Tennessee 
to hunt as early as 1760. He camped for some weeks 
on a little stream which runs into the Watauga. It 




The Daniel Boone tree as it now stands 



TRADERS AND HUNTERS 35 

is in Washington county, and is known now as 
Boone's Creek. 

One day Boone shot a bear on a beech tree near this 
creek. In order that the fact might be remembered, he 
took out his hunting knife and carved upon the smooth 
bark of the tree the following words : 

D. Boon CillED A BAR OnTree in ThE yEAR 1760. 

The tree stands eight miles from Jonesboro. It is 
now getting old and is fast going to decay, though the 
words can still be read. 

While out taking game, the hunters often kept a, look- 
out for good lands where they could settle and make new 
homes. In the year 1778 a party came from Kentucky 
and explored the country about Bledsoe's Lick, in Mid- 
dle Tennessee. Here they planted a field of corn— the 
first planted by white men in that part of the State. 

Later in the year, all members of the party, except a 
man named Spencer, said they were going back to Ken- 
tucky. The country pleased Spencer, and he decided to 
stay. He had no house, but he found a big hollow tree, 
and prepared to make himself comfortable in that. 

One of the party, whose name was Holliday, had lost 
his knife, and did not like to undertake so long a journey 
through the wilderness without a knife. So Spencer 
went with him to the Barrens of Kentucky. Here he put 
his friend in the right path, and breaking his own knife 
into two equal parts, gave Holliday half of it and kept 
half himself. He then returned to his hollow tree, where 
he spent the winter all alone, contented and happy. 



36 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Spencer was a very large man. The track made by his 
foot looked like that of a giant. He of course did not 
stay shut up in his hollow tree all the time. One morn- 
ing he was out hunting and he happened to pass near 
the place where a French hunter had pitched his camp. 
The hunter was away at the time, but he soon returned 
home, and, seeing the tracks of Spencer's big feet in the 
soft ground, he was terribly frightened. He thought 
there must be some monstrous giant near by who would 
devour him like a " Kaw-head-and-bloody-bones. ' ' So 
he at once plunged into the river, and, swimming across, 
made his way as fast as possible through the woods to 
the French settlements on the Wabash, north of the 
Ohio river. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF WATAUGA 37 



The Settlement of Watauga 

The first permanent settlement in Tennessee was made 
in 1769. William Bean, from Virginia, built the first 
cabin in this settlement, and thus made himself forever 
remembered. His cabin was located on Boone's Creek 
near the Watauga river. Bean selected this place be- 
cause he and Daniel Boone once had a hunting camp 
there and found much game in the neighborhood. 

Other people came from Virginia about the same time 
and settled near Bean on the Watauga river. They 
were a part of the great front wave of population mov- 
ing westward. Many others soon came from Wake 
county, North Carolina. Some were old soldiers who 
had seen the land when they were inarching against the 
Indians. Russell Bean was the first child born in the 
new settlement and the first white child born in Tennes- 
see. 

About 1770 a settlement was made in Carter's Valley, 
fourteen or fifteen miles above where Rogersville now 
stands. This was a part of the Virginia settlement 
which had been extended down from the Wolf Hills. 

Two years later a third settlement was made on the 
Nollichucky river by Jacob Brown, who came over the 
mountains from North Carolina. Brown brought a lot 



38 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

of goods on a pack horse and opened up a store. The 
settlement sometimes went by the name of Brown's Set- 
tlement. 

In 1771 the people of North Carolina were treated 
harshly by the governor whom the king of England 
had placed over them. Many rose in arms and tried to 
assert their rights. Failing in this, they left the country 
and came over the mountains to find new homes at 
Watauga. 

At first the settlers on the Watauga thought they were 
in Virginia. So many of the people had come from Vir- 
ginia and so, many others had been treated badly in 
North Carolina that there was a greater love for Vir- 
ginia,. Every one hoped that before long he would be 
living under the laws of the Old Dominion. 

But when a survey was made it showed that they 
were all living in North Carolina. They were so far 
from the other North Carolina settlements, however, 
that they could hope for no government from that quar- 
ter. Nor did they care very much to have it. As horse 
thieves and other bad characters were becoming very 
numerous and bold because of the lack of law, the people 
decided (1772) to set up a government of their own. 

This government was called the Watauga Association. 
A sort of constitution, called Articles of Association, 
was drawn up and signed. Thirteen commissioners 
were elected. James Robertson, John Sevier, and Wil- 
liam Bean were among the number chosen. The com- 
missioners elected five men from their body to fonn a 



THE SETTLEMENT OF WATAUGA 39 

court. These settled disputes and acted for the general 
good. 

At the time Watauga was settled, the Cherokees had 
been weakened by wars with other Indians. Hence they 
did not at first offer strong resistance to the taking away 
of their lands by the new emigrants. 

When the Revolutionary War came on, the Indians 
were easily persuaded by British agents to attack the 
American settlements. Captain Stuart, whose life was 
saved by Atta-kulla-kulla at the surrender of Fort Lou- 
don, was now British sub-agent for the southwest. He 
caused the Cherokees to attack the Watauga settlements 
in 1776. 

This war began with the killing of two white men, 
Boyd and Doggett, by the Indians. Through traders 
Nancy Ward sent word to the settlers at Watauga that 
the Indians were preparing for an attack. The settlers 
gathered into the larger forts and made everything 
ready to give the savages a, warm reception. The smaller 
forts were destroyed. 

The Indians came in two bodies. Each numbered 
three hundred and fifty braves. The first, under Drag- 
ging Canoe, marched to the attack of Fort Heaton, in 
the fork of the Holston river. They were routed by the 
whites, who came out and gave them battle at Island 
Flats. The other, under Old Abraham, besieged Fort 
Watauga for twenty days without success. 

After awhile the settlers made peace with the Indians. 
More people moved in from the old settlements, and 



40 TEXXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

population grew. The number of inhabitants was now 
about six hundred. The government was turned over to 
the State of North Carolina, and in 1777 the county of 
Washington was formed. It was as large as the present 
State of Tennessee. 

A land office, was soon opened. This was to give the 
people a chance to have farms of their own. Each man 
at the head of a family was allowed 640 acres of land 
free of charge. His wife could have 100 acres and each 
child 100 acres. The poorest man could thus become a 
large landholder at once. This caused a great many 
people to come to Watauga. 

During the Revolutionary War the Watauga people 
were true patriots. Many of them had known in the old 
settlements what it was to suffer from the tyranny of the 
British. Some Tories, or people who sided with the 
British, came to the Nollichucky settlement about the 
beginning of the war. The Watauga men rode over one 
day and made them all take the oath of loyalty to the 
colonies. They indicted other Tories in their pioneer 
courts. The friends of King George soon found out 
that the western settlements were not a good place to 
come to. 



NEW HOMES IN THE FOREST 41 



New Homes in the Forest 

The first settlers on the Watauga lived a very hard 
life. In coming over the mountains from their old 
homes in the East, they could not hring many things 
with them. There were no roads for wagons, and an 
axe, a rifle, and a few vessels for cooking were about all 
that the pack horses could cany. 

The first thing the settlers did was to build a rude 
cabin near a clear spring of pure water. Good water 
was necessary, not only for drinking and cooking, but 
also for keeping butter and milk and fresh meats cool 
and sweet in warm weather. The result was that the 
people lived apart wherever the springs happened to be, 
just as we find them living to-day. In time of war, how- 
ever, they came together in forts, or stockades, to protect 
themselves against the Indians. 

While they were waiting for the cabin to be built, the 
family camped in the woods. Here they made fires 
against a tree or a great log, and slept on beds of leaves 
under an arbor made of thick branches of pine or cedar. 

Every man had an a'xe, and this was, except in rare 
cases, the only tool he had with which to build his house. 
With the axe trees were cut down, and thus an opening 
was made in the forest for the new home. 

The first cabin was built of round logs. Sometimes 
the logs were "scalped," as it was called; that is, they 
were hewn roughly with a. common axe. The hard earth 
served for a floor, or flat pieces of timber, called punch- 



42 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

eons, were split out for this purpose. The roof was 
fo nned of rough clapboards, held in place by straight 
logs of wood. A rude door was cut in the south side of 
the house, and a small, high window in the north side. 
The shutters for the doors and windows were made of 
slabs like those that formed the floor. They were fast- 
ened by a peg or a wooden latch. 

For many years the household furniture was of the 
crudest kind. A bed was made by sticking two poles 
into a crack in the wall and resting the opposite ends in 
two rough forks cut from the branches of trees. On 
these were laid flat boards, which supported a bedtick 
filled with leaves or straw. The feathers of wild 
pigeons, geese, or ducks were used later to make beds. 

There were no fine bureaus, washstands, and sofas 
such as you now see. The clothes were hung upon 
wooden pegs fastened in the walls around the room. 
For a long time the best piece of furniture was a rude 
chest, which contained the best clothes and the family 
treasures. Later, trunks were made by covering a box 
with the skins of animals, the hair being on the outside. 

No bricks could be had, and the chimneys were made 
of wood lined with rough, flat stones and soft clay. The 
fireplaces were very large and deep. Fuel was easy to 
get, and big fires were the rule. As much as half a 
wagonload of wood could be piled on at one time. When 
the fire burnt low, the children sometimes stood inside 
the jambs and looked out at the clouds as they floated 
overhead. 



ROBERTSON AT WATAUGA 43 



Robertson at Watauga 

James Robertson came to Tennessee from North Caro- 
lina in 1770. He spent the first summer at Watauga and 
made a crop. A man named Honeycut furnished him 
food. Tins was the year after William Bean built the 
first cabin. 

After Robertson had gathered his crop, he started 
back to North Carolina. In crossing the mountains he 
got lost, and wandered about in the wilderness for four- 
teen days. The frequent showers of rain made his pow- 
der wet, so he could shoot no game. Frnally, being 
forced to climb a very steep mountain, he had to leave 
his horse and go on foot. When reduced to a starving 
condition, he met two hunters, who gave him food, and 
thus saved his life. He reached home in safety, and 
soon returned with other settlers to Watauga. 

In, 1774 a select company of Watauga volunteers 
fought with the Virginians in the battle of Point Pleas- 
ant. Robertson was among the number. They had 
marched for twenty-five days through the pathless wil- 
derness. On the 10th of October they lay sleeping in 
the woods with the Virginia army at the mouth of the 
Kanawha river. 

Just before day Robertson and a friend arose and 
went out to kill a deer for breakfast. They met a large 



44 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

army of Indians stealing upon the camp. Firing upon 
their foes, they hurried back to arouse the sleeping 
army. The battle quickly began and raged all day with 
increasing vigor. A tempest of bullets rained among the 
trees, and the ground was soon covered with the slain. 

As the sun went down, the Watauga volunteers crept 
into the rear of the enemy. Their deadly aim put the 
Indians to flight, and the victory was won. In both the 
beginning and the end of the battle Robertson helped to 
save the day. 

When Fort Watauga was attacked by the Cherokees 
under Old Abraham in 1776, Robertson was in com- 
mand. As before stated, this was during our Revolu- 
tionary War. Robertson had only forty men with whom 
to oppose more than three hundred savages. 

The siege lasted three weeks, during which time In- 
dian bullets rattled against the fort by day and by night 
Robertson was always on the alert. Not a man who 
stayed in the fort was injured. The number of Indians 
killed was much larger than the number of men in the 
fort. 

Old Abraham finally gave up the contest and led his 
warriors back to the Tellico. He had heard that an army 
of relief for the fort was coming from Virginia. A 
young man named Moore, who had ventured out of the 
fort, was carried away by the Indians and burned alive 
at one of their towns. 

Robertson won great praise by his able defence of 
Fort Watauga. He was a plain man and had little edu- 



ROBERTSON AT WATAl Q 1 45 

cation; yet his good sense and firm character made him 
a strong leader. His hravery was unquestioned, though 
he did not have the dash of Sevier (seveer'). He was 
more like Washington. 

The attempt to capture Fort Watauga was part of a 
general attack by the Indians on the whole southern 
frontier. It was the purpose of the British leaders to 
have the Indians thus harass the Americans in the rear, 
while their troops should attack Charleston and other 
points on the seacoast. 

When the Americans learned that the Indians were on 
the warpath they at once prepared to punish the red- 
skins by invading their country. Colonel Christian, of 
Virginia, led the little army. Robertson joined him with 
the Watauga volunteers. They took the old war trail 
for the Cherokee towns on the Tellico. After marching 
two hundred miles in hot August weather, they met 
about 2,000 Indians at the crossing of the French Broad. 
On their approach the Indians took fright and fled. The 
whites crossed the river and found the deserted camp. 
They pressed on rapidly and took and destroyed every 
Indian town except Chota. This was spared, as it was 
the home of Nancy Ward, the friend of the white race. 

Most of the Indians were ready for peace. Dragging 
Canoe, chief of the Chickamaugas, alone held out for 
war. In April of the next year he took a party of In- 
dians to Robertson's barn on the Watauga and stole ten 
of his finest horses. 

The next morning Robertson pursued the thieves and 



46 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

recaptured his horses. Dragging Canoe, however, soon 
rallied his scattered forces and vigorously attacked Rob- 
ertson and his party. Though largely outnumbered, the 
whites beat the Indians off and reached home in safety. 
Peace was soon made, and, as agent for North Carolina, 
Robertson afterwards lived for some time among the 
Cherokees at Chota. 

II 

James Robertson had great influence with the Indians. 
The Watauga settlers wanted a better title to their lands. 
So Robertson and John Boone were asked to bargain 
for it with the Cherokees. For some muskets and other 
articles they secured an eight-year lease of all the Wa- 
tauga country. 

A large number of Indians was present at Watauga 
on this occasion. After the contract had been signed, 
the settlers thought they would give the Indians a sea- 
son of enjoyment. They arranged ball games, dances, 
and foot races. Both whites and Indians engaged in 
these games. 

In the midst of this festivity and good will, a rifle shot 
was heard, and one of the Indians fell dead. No one 
then knew who did the wicked deed. It was afterward 
found to have been done by a man named Crabtree. He 
was from the Wolf Hills in Virginia. 

The Indians were so enraged by this murder that they 
left at once for their homes on the Tellico and Little 



ROBERTSON IV W ITAUGA 4'/ 

Tennessee rivers. The settlers knew that the savages 
would soon begin a. bloody war of revenge unless they 
could be pacified. 

Robertson said he would go to Tellico and see what 
could be done, even at the risk of his life. Having kissed 
his wife and child good-by, he mounted his horse and 
rode away into the wilderness. He took the great war- 
path which led directly to the Indian nation. It went 
through what is now the heart of East Tennessee. 

As he traveled alone through the dark woods, Robert- 
son saw traces everywhere of a large number of war- 
riors who had hurried on before him. On the second 
day he met Isaac Thomas, an Indian trader. Thomas 
had been sent by Nancy Ward to warn the settlers of 
their danger. 

Thomas turned back and went with Robertson to the 
Indian nation. He thought he could help Robertson to 
pacify the Indians. Having reached the Little Tennes- 
see river, they turned aside from the great war trail and 
directed their steps to Chota, the capital, where the great 
chief Ocono-stota lived. 

Night had come on before they reached the place. As 
they rode down the only street of the town, all was dark 
save a few glimmering lights in the Indian cabins. Rob- 
ertson knew that his life was in great danger. 

A young Indian warrior, whom they had met outside 
of town, was sent forward to tell the great chief that 
Robertson was coming. Oconostota returned words of 
welcome to the paleface chief. He said he would hear 



48 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Robertson the next day at a great council of the nation. 

Robertson went home with Thomas and stayed all 
night. Thomas's house was a log cabin one-and-a-half 
stories high. It was filled with all kinds of traders' 
goods. Robertson saw all around him piles of traps, 
powder and lead, bright colored beads, and cloth. There 
was every kind of cheap, flashy trinkets that would at- 
tract the Indian eye. 

As Robertson sat in the door of the trader's cabin the 
next morning, large crowds of Indians passed by. They 
were on their way to the great council house. They were 
armed and had on their war paint. Their dark counte- 
nances told Robertson plainly that he would have hard 
work to ward off the storm that was coming. 

At noon a messenger came. He said that Oconostota 
was waiting in the midst of his warriors at the council 
house and would receive the paleface chief. Robertson 
was brought into his presence with great ceremony. lie 
saw many warriors whom he had met at Watauga. 

Robertson knew that his own life and the lives of his 
people depended upon his action. He was surrounded 
by half -naked savages who stood ready to avenge the 
blood of a fellow-warrior. Yet he was undaunted, and 
showed not a, single emotion. 

The Indians seemed astonished. They wondered at 
the moral courage of the man. For a few moments there 
was silence. Then the great chief Oconostota arose and 
bade Robertson to speak ; he and his warriors were ready 
to hear. 



ROBERTSON I 7 WA1 w Q I 49 

Robertson spoke plainly and with perfect sincerity. 
He showed them that the man who killed the young war- 
rior did not belong to the Watauga people; that the cul- 
prit would certainly be taken and punished. His own 
people, he continued, desired peace with all men, and 
especially with their friends, the brave (Tierokees. 

The savages listened in silence. Now and then an old 
warrior signified approval by a deep-toned ' ' Ugh ! " As 
Robertson closed his talk, the dark cloud lifted from 
their brows. Oconostota arose and said: "What our 
white brother tells us is like the truth. Are not his words 
good! What say my brothers I" 

"They are good," was the reply on all sides. The 
Indians then crowded around and took Robertson's hand 
in token of friendship. They asked him to stay some 
time in their town and enjoy himself. This Robertson 
thought it best to do>, for he wanted to establish a lasting- 
friendship. 

During his stay, Robertson visited Nancy Ward, the 
prophetess of the tribe. Her will was supreme ; it stood 
above even that of Oconostota himself. Though she was 
a friend of the white race, she did not lose the confidence 
and respect of her own people. Her power was always 
on the side of peace and right. 

Robertson soon returned to his own people on the 
Watauga, He brought the happy news that there would 
be no war. There was an unbroken peace for four years. 



50 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The Coming of Sevier 

John Sevier is the most brilliant character in our early 
State history. On his father's side, he was of French 
descent. The family was of ancient lineage, and Sevier 
showed in his character the traits of his distinguished 
ancestry. 

The Seviers were French Protestants, called Hugue- 
nots. They did not agree with the religion that was 
established in France, and had to leave that country. 
The head of the family settled first in London. This 
was John Sevier's grandfather. The family name had 
been spelt Xavier. It was now changed to Sevier. 

Valentine Sevier, John Sevier's father, was born in 
London. He came to America about 1740 and settled in 
the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. While living here, 
he was married to a Baltimore lady. His son John was 
born in 1744— some say 1745. 

In early years, as well as later, John Sevier liked an 
active life. He went to school and got a fair education, 
but he learned more from men than from books. It was 
his early ambition to be a soldier. Governor Dunmore, 
of Virginia, soon appointed him a captain in the colonial 
army. Washington was a colonel in the same corps. 

The Seviers lived on the frontier and soon learned the 
habits of pioneer life. John Sevier was an Indian 



THE COMING OF SEVIER 51 

fighter even in his boyhood. His success in fighting the 
redskins attracted Governor Dunniore's attention and 
secured for him the office of captain. At a little more 
than seventeen years of age, Sevier married, laid out a 
town, and became the leading merchant in it. He al- 
ways believed in doing tilings with a rush. 

Some time later the Seviers settled on the Holston in 
what is now Sullivan county, Tennessee. In the spring 
of 1772, John Sevier visited one of his brother officers, 
Captain Evan Shelby, on his cattle farm at King's 
Meadow, now called Bristol. He there learned of the 
little Watauga settlement so wonderfully hid away in 
the mountain wilderness, and he determined to see it. 

Robertson had been at Watauga two years. He was 
the leading man of the settlement, and had the most com- 
modious home. One morning three strangers rode up to 
his house, which stood on an island in the Watauga 
river. One of the men was John Sevier, and the others 
were Evan Shelby and his son Isaac. Thus four men 
noted in our early history were thrown together for the 
first time. 

Though Sevier's prospects for wealth and position in 
the older settlements east of the mountains were excel- 
lent, he decided to cast his lot with the settlers on the 
Watauga. Why he should have done this is hard to tell. 
An Invisible Power sometimes seems to direct the desti- 
nies of individuals as well as of nations. 

Sevier's home in the new settlement was made of logs. 
It had six rooms, all on the ground floor. Everything 



52 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

was planned for convenience. Wood was plentiful and 
the fireplaces were ample. Here he lived with his wife 
and his three sons, and made welcome all who came. 

Sevier became a popular leader at once, but there was 
no' jealousy between him and Robertson. Sevier put 
Robertson in front and he followed. They were both 
prominent in organizing the Watauga government. 
Sevier was present when Robertson treated with the 
Cherokees for a lease of the Watauga lands. When 
Robertson went to the Cherokee nation to pacify the In- 
dians, Sevier was building Fort Watauga as a defence. 
When the Watauga, A T olunteers went to help the Vir- 
ginians at Point Pleasant, Sevier took again his old 
office of captain, and Robertson cheerfully served under 
him as sergeant. Sevier was present at Sycamore 
Shoals when Henderson bargained for land with the 
Cherokees. 

Indeed, Sevier was so prominent in everything that 
took place at Watauga after his arrival there, that to 
give an account of his acts is to give the history of the 
settlement. In 1776 he joined in the petition for annexa- 
tion to North Carolina, and himself wrote the petition. 
He then went as a. delegate to North Carolina to revise 
the State Constitution. 

Sevier was one of the leaders under Robertson in the 
defence of Fort Watauga against the attack of Old Abra- 
ham. It was on this occasion that Catharine Sherrill 
escaped from the Indians by jumping over the walls of 



THE COMING OF SEVIER 53 

the fort and falling- into Sevier's arms. Other deeds of 
Sevier will be mentioned in future chapters. He was a 
popular leader from the start, though he did not become 
famous till the battle of King's Mountain. 



54 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Catharine Sherrill 

Catharine Sherrill was the daughter of one of the first 
settlers on the Watauga. She was tall and slender, with 
dark eyes and hair, clear skin, and a neck that was said 
to be like that of the swan. She was one of the hand- 
somest as well as one of the best and bravest girls in 
the settlement. 

The wild ways of this new country seemed to suit her. 
She enjoyed the free life of the forest, with its spice of 
danger from Indians and wild animals. It was told of 
her that she could run like a deer and easily spring over 
a fence six rails high by putting her hands on the top 
rail. 

In the year 1776, when Catharine was about twenty 
years old, a party of Cherokee Indians made an attack 
upon Fort Watauga, as you have already learned. 
Nancy Ward had sent scouts to inform her white friends 
that the Indians were coming, and so most of the set- 
tlers were gathered into the fort. But early one morn- 
ing, before the Indians were expected, several women 
went out of the fort to milk some cows. Among these 
women was Catharine Sherrill. All at once, the war 
whoop sounded, and the women ran with all their might 
toward the fort. Catharine happened to be the furthest 
away. Though she darted forward with the speed of the 
wind, she saw the Indians getting between her and the 
sate. 




Catharine SherrilPs Es< 



escape 



56 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES? 

John Sevier was in the fort, and seeing Catharine's 
great danger, rushed out of the gate with several other 
men to beat the Indians back and rescue the brave girl. 
Knowing that Sevier could do nothing against three 
hundred savages, his friends called him back and began 
firing upon the Indians with their rifles. 

It was a race for life, and Catharine, seeing no other 
chance to make good her escape, turned and ran down 
the other side of the fort. The wooden wall of the stock- 
ade was eight feet high, but with one mighty spring 
Catharine reached the top and fell over into the arms of 
John Sevier. 

The other women came in through the gate and es- 
caped without harm. The Indians kept up the attack 
upon the fort for twenty days. The white people were 
safe behind their strong walls, but many of the Indians 
were killed. The bullets of the savages rattled against 
the fort like hailstones, but did no> more harm. Finally 
the Indians left and went back to their homes on the 
Tellico river. 

Now what do you suppose became of Catharine Sher- 
rill ? Four years later she was the wife of John Sevier. 
The wedding took place at Sevier's new home on the 
Nollichucky. His first wife had died and Catharine was 
his second. Through a long life she was his faithful 
companion and helpmeet, but never did they forget the 
thrilling moment when she fell into his arms from the 
top, of the fort, and he called her for the first time his 
"Bonnie Kate." 



J III. ! E \ A ESSEE !'<>< 1 U<)\ TAX 57 



The Tennessee Pocahontas 

You have all heard of Pocahontas, the Indian girl who 
saved the life of Captain John Smith in Virginia. She 
was the white man's friend. Nancy Ward was our Ten- 
nessee Pocahontas. She, also, was the white man's 
friend, and did all that she could to promote peace and 
good will between the white man and the red man. 

Nancy was the daughter of an English officer named 
AVard. Her mother was of royal Cherokee blood, being 
the sister of the vice-king, Atta-kulla-kulla. 

Nancy's home was at Chota, on the north bank of the 
Tellico river. This town was the capital of the Cherokee 
nation and also a. city of refuge to which those who had 
done some great crime fled in order to escape harm. 

Nancy was called a prophetess because it was thought 
that she made known the will of the Great Spirit and 
could look into the future and tell what was going to 
happen. Her wigwam -was larger than the rest and 
stood near that of the chief, not far from the great coun- 
cil house where meetings were held to decide upon war 
or peace. Her style of living was rather grand, and she 
kept as a charm before her door the form of an otter in 
the coils of a water snake. 

Two white men once came up the Tellico river to 
trade with the Indians for com, In some way they fell 



58 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

into a quarrel with a crowd of bad Indians, and were 
about to be killed. Nancy Ward heard of this and 
rushed to the spot to save the white men. ' ' These men 
are our brothers," said she. "You must not ill-treat 
them. ' ' This order was obeyed at once. At her further 
command the white men's canoes were filled with corn. 
They then rowed back down the river and told every- 
body they met about Nancy Ward, the "beloved 
woman. ' ' 

The Indians once made a raid upon the Watauga set- 
tlement, as you have already learned, and came to the 
house of William Bean. His wife had been a friend to 
the Indians, and did not run to the fort for safety. She 
thought she would not be harmed, but in this she was 
mistaken. 

Mrs. Bean was carried away to the Indian towns on 
the Tellico. There it was decided that she should be 
burned alive. She was tied to a stake on the top of a 
high mound, but as the fire was being kindled around 
her, Nancy Ward rushed to the place and ordered her 
release. 

Dragging Canoe, the great chief of the Chickamaugas, 
opposed Nancy, but her power was great enough to over- 
come this oppositiou. Mrs. Bean was not only set free, 
but had a guard to protect her on her way back to her 
husband and children on the Watauga. 

Whenever the Indians began the war dance and were 
getting ready to make an attack upon the white settle- 
ments, Nancy Ward at once sent Isaac Thomas, the In- 



THE li:\ V ES8EE POt ' I lit > \ T 1 8 59 

dian trader, or some other trusted messenger, to inform 
the settlers of the coming- danger. So true was Nancy 
Ward that she was known far and wide as the white 
man's friend. At one time, when John Sevier and other 
leaders had made a raid upon the Indian towns and were 
destroying everything before them, they arrived at 
Chota. ' ' This town, ' ' said they, ' i must not be burned. 
It is the home of Nancy Ward, the friend of the white 
race. ' ' All the other towns were burned, but Chota was 
spared. 



60 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The First Battle of Chickamauga 

There was a battle of Chickamauga long before the 
Civil War. At that time most of the East Tennessee 
country was a wilderness and inhabited by wild beasts 
and Indians. The white people lived only along the 
"Watauga and in neighboring parts of upper East 
Tennessee. The Chickamauga Indians lived at the 
mouth of Chickamauga Creek and along the banks of the 
Tennessee river where it runs around Lookout Moun- 
tain. 

The Chickamaugas were a bandit tribe. They were a 
branch of the Cherokees, but had Creek blood in their 
veins. Their villages were the resort of all kinds of 
white and red outlaws and murderers. 

These Indians made frequent raids into the settle- 
ments to rob and to murder the whites. Then they re- 
tired for safety into the mountain fastnesses, where they 
could not be overtaken by their pursuers. They even 
took refuge in caves of the mountains. It was said that 
the famous Xick-a-jack cavern, which opens on the bank 
of the Tennessee river, was large enough to contain the 
whole tribe. 

During the Revolutionary War the Chickamaugas 
were very troublesome to the white settlers. The British 
incited them, along with other tribes, to deeds of vio- 



THE FIRST BATTLE OF CHWKAMAl QA Oi 

leuce, and furnished them with guns and ammunition. 
They were to make war upon the settlers from the rear 
while the British soldiers should come in at the front on 
the Atlantic seaboard. 

In the latter part of 1778 Savannah was taken by a 
British force and communication was opened up with 
the Indian tribes in the interior of the country. John 
Sevier was on the alert, and soon discovered that the 
Chickamaugas had received into their towns a large sup- 
ply of ammunition and other war materials. 

The Chickamauga chief at that time was the cele- 
brated Dragging Canoe. The British supplies were sent 
to him because greater security and secrecy could be 
had among the Chickamaugas than among the Chero- 
kees, who lived under their chief Oconostota in their 
towns on the Tellico and the Little Tennessee rivers. 

Before the winter was over, Dragging Canoe made an 
attack upon the settlements. Sevier knew that this was 
only the forerunner of a general bloody onslaught when 
the summer days should come. He saw, further, that 
the only way to prevent this wa*.s to strike the Indians at 
once in their strongholds.- They far outnumbered any 
force he could muster, and could be defeated with small 
loss to the whites only by attacking them unawares and 
while unprepared. 

Sevier went at once to consult the Shelbys at King's 
Meadows. They all agreed upon a plan. An overland 
attack was thought to be out of the question. Nobody 
knew "the lay of the land," and before the troops could 



62 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

force their way into, the Indian strongholds, they would 
be discovered and repulsed. The best way was to attack 
by water and make an immediate assault upon the towns 
lying along the river banks. 

There were plenty of men for the expedition, but no 
boats and no supplies ; nor were the struggling colonies 
in a condition to contribute any. Isaac Shelby finally 
agreed to furnish the funds and risk getting back his 
money from the capture of the British spoils. All right ! 
That settled it! 

II. 

Sevier was now ready to organize the expedition. A 
kind of boat yard was opened at the mouth of Big Creek 
on the Holston. This was a few miles above the present 
town of Rogers ville. Here Sevier gathered his men from 
all quarters of the backwoods settlements. They came 
in their hunting shirts and buckskin trousers with their 
axes and their long Deckard rifles in their hands. It 
was all voluntary; no man ever refused to respond to 
the call of Sevier. 

For miles around, the woods were soon ringing with 
the sound of their axes and the crashing of the giant 
poplars as they fell thundering to the earth. The trunks 
of these trees were quickly hollowed out and fashioned 
into long canoes. Flatboats and barges were also con- 
structed. In an incredibly short time one hundred or 
more of these rude vessels were afloat upon the placid 
waters of the Holston. 



THE FIRST BATTLE OF CHICEAMAUGA 63 

Before the woods were in full leaf, the little fleet had 
been scantily provisioned, and, with seven or eight hun- 
dred soldiers on board, was sailing rapidly downstream. 
As the spring tide was on, the river current shot the 
boats like arrows down the broad highway of waters, 
fringed on either side with submerged brushwood, swirl- 
ing eddies, and clinging drift. 

The expedition was known as Shelby's expedition. 
Though most of the troops had been raised in the Wa- 
tauga settlement by Sevier, yet Evan Shelby was the 
senior officer, and to him had been accorded the chief 
command. 

They were entering what was to them practically an 
unknown wilderness. There was only one man in all the 
army who had sailed down these waters. This was a 
man named Hudson. He acted as pilot, and gave out 
blood-curdling stories of dangerous shoals and roaring 
rapids which threatened them with almost certain de- 
struction. 

The swift flood carried them nearly a hundred miles a 
day. The country through which they passed was wild, 
and green, and silent. Not a trace of civilization had yet 
disturbed the dominion of nature. At the mouth of the 
French Broad they met another rolling flood which came 
down from the Great Smokies. Four miles below they 
passed some beautifully wooded hills, from which nu- 
merous springs of clear water were bursting forth— the 
site of the future Knoxville. In the thick darkness of 
night, with bated breath, they floated silently past the 



64 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

mouth of the Little Tennessee, on whose banks not far 
away lived Oconostota and his savage warriors. In 
three days the little fleet had passed the mouth of the 
Clinch, and continuing down the big Tennessee was at 
the mouth of Chickamauga Creek and in the enemy's 
country. 

They soon captured an Indian, from whom it was 
learned that the home of Dragging Canoe was in a near- 
by village. The captive was made to act as guide. 
Owing to the high waters, the boats came close to the 
town without being discovered. The guide led Shelby 
and Sevier's men to Dragging Canoe's quarters. The 
wily chief and his braves, taken completely by surprise, 
fled to the mountains, leaving nearly fifty of their men 
dead on the ground. 

This occurred early in the morning of the 13th of 
April, 1779. The British ammunition and stores were 
seized and the village was burned. Before the day had 
closed, eleven other villages had been destroyed and 
their inhabitants put to flight. Following his usual 
course, Sevier ordered that all the corn be destroyed, 
and thus the Indians were left without any sustenance 
whatever— even without powder to shoot game. This 
was Sevier's sure plan for stopping their attacks upon 
the settlements. They would have to raise another crop 
of corn and secure more powder and lead before they 
could again carry on war. 

The object of the expedition having been effected, the 
next thing was to devise the best means of getting back 



THE FIRST BATTLE OF CHWKAMAl GA 65 

home. As the boats could not be forced upstream on 
account of the swift current, it was decided to return by 
land. They had taken one hundred and fifty horses in 
the Chickamauga towns. Upon these they loaded the 
British spoils, which were valued at $100,000, and set out 
through the pathless wilderness for home. In less than 
a month they were back upon the Watauga without the 
loss of a man. 



60 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 






Fighting the Invader 

The defeat of General Gates at Camden marked the 
darkest period in the American E evolution. After that 
the British and Tories overran the Carolinas, and 
American independence seemed lost. The British com- 
mander, Ferguson, marched as far as the foot of the 
Great Smoky Mountains and threatened to> come over 
and destroy the patriot settlements around Watauga 
and hang their leaders. * 

This news was brought by Samuel Phillips, a paroled 
prisoner. It first reached Shelby in Sullivan county. 
He at once rode sixty miles to see John Sevier. They 
talked the matter over for two days, and decided to raise 
an army and go over the mountains to meet Ferguson. 

Shelby and Sevier had their consultation about the 
last of August, 1780. Eunners were sent to notify the 
militia to meet, September 25th, at Sycamore Shoals, on 
the Watauga, When the day arrived, all the men were 
there, many with their wives, children, fathers, and 
mothers. Double the number of men wanted were ready 
to go. It was necessary that at least half the able-bodied 
soldiers should stay at home to man the forts and guard 
against Indian attacks. 

There was no lack of patriotic zeal. One mother said : 
' ' Here, Mr. Sevier, is another of our boys who wants to 



in; II 1 1 \(, THE l\ 1 ADER 67 

go with his father and brother to the war, but we have 
no horse for him. ' ' The boy was only sixteen years old ! 

Sevier tried to borrow money on his own account to 
equip the troops, but all the money in the settlement had 
been spent for land. Finally John Adair, the entry- 
taker, let him have nearly $13,000 from the land office. 

Colonel William Campbell had been sent for, and was 
present with four hundred Virginians. Colonel Shelby 
brought two hundred and forty . men from Sullivan 
county. Colonel Sevier selected an equal number from 
Washington county. A large number of refugee pa- 
triots from North Carolina were also present and ready 
to march under Colonel McDowell. 

The strongest and the best equipped men had been 
chosen. Nearly all were armed with the famous Deckard 
rifles made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These guns 
were noted for their accuracy and long range. 

All day the crowd surged to and fro under the great 
trees and increased in size. Scarcely a family in the set- 
tlement stayed away. The preparations extended far 
into the night. 

Early next morning, "the riflemen who had been se- 
lected to go formed in line. • A minister was present and 
asked the Divine guidance and blessing. Some say it 
was good old Doctor Doak, but of this we are not sure. 
Good-bys were then said and the troops mounted and 
rode off up the Gap Creek valley. 

At the head of the valley, the army took Bright's trail 
across Yellow Mountain. Each soldier was dressed in a 



68 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

hunting shirt, and, besides his rifle, carried a tomahawk 
and a hunting knife. There was no particular order of 
march. The men rode along in a straggling line as best 
suited their convenience. 

There was no> baggage train and there were no supply 
wagons. The army started with some beef cattle, but 
the march was so rapid that these were soon left behind. 
There was not even a surgeon to dress wounds. In their 
haversacks the men had some parched corn, and they 
expected to kill game in the woods as they marched along 
or pick up what food they could in the settlements. At 
night they wrapped themselves in their blankets and 
slept under the trees. 

As they came down to the foothills east of the moun- 
tains, they began to meet straggling bands of American 
troops who were trying to keep out of the way of the 
British. They soon arrived within about sixteen miles 
of Gilbert Town, where they heard that Ferguson had 
camped. Shelby said that they should attack the enemy 
at once, and for this purpose they elected Colonel Camp- 
bell to take the chief command. 

In the meantime, Ferguson learned of their approach 
and took up a line of march eastward. He aimed to join 
the army of Cornwallis, which lay at Charlotte. Fergu- 
son urged the Tories to unite with him and drive back 
the mountain men. He also sent to Cornwallis for fur- 
ther aid. 

After a number of marches, Ferguson encamped on a 
small, mound-like ridge. In honor of his monarch, he 



FIGHTING THE /At ADER 69 

called it King's Mountain. There lie waited for rein- 
forcements from Cornwallis. 

When the patriot army reached Gilbert Town, Fer- 
guson had left. They at once started in pursuit. In 
order to march more rapidly, and be sure to overtake 
Ferguson, it was decided, after one day's march, to pick 
out the best-equipped riflemen. These were to push 
ahead, while the footmen and those poorly mounted 
would come on more slowly. 

The officers spent all night in selecting the proper 
men. At daybreak they set out on Ferguson's trail 
with nine hundred and ten choice soldiers. They heard 
that six hundred Tories had gathered near by, but the 
mountain men were after larger game, and kept straight 
ahead. They were in the saddle day and night for 
thirty-six hours, except one short halt for refreshments. 

Every hour the trail became fresher and the patriots 
hurried eagerly on. A small body of South Carolina 
troops under Colonel Williams joined them on the way. 
The pursuit lasted three days. The morning of the bat- 
tle it rained heavily, and the soldiers had hard work 
to keep their powder dr^. About noon the clouds cleared 
away and they came in sight of Ferguson's camp. 

II 

Stragglers from the enemy's camp reported that Fer- 
guson would march to join Cornwallis the next morning. 
It was therefore decided to make an attack at once. Each 
soldier was ordered to pick the touchhole of his gun and 



70 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

put in fresh priming. The officers had a swift consulta- 
tion, and decided to surround the mountain and make an 
assault on all sides at the same time. 

The patriot army rode in a gallop to the foot of the 
mountain and there dismounted. They were tired and 
hungry and covered with mud, but there was no> time for 
delay. Leaving their horses in charge of a small guard, 
the lines formed and marched on foot around the moun- 
tain to the places assigned them. 

Sevier's and Winston's men drew the first fire from 
the enemy, and soon the fighting became general. The 
Americans gave the Indian war whoop as they advanced 
to the attack, and the British thought they were sur- 
rounded by a host of howling demons. Ferguson had 
boasted that all the powers of darkness could not drive 
him from the mountain, and his men now began to think 
he would have a, chance to prove it. 

At some points the British regulars charged the 
Americans with fixed bayonets and drove them back 
down the slopes. The riflemen carried no> bayonets, and 
had to give way till they could reload. They then rallied 
and began to pick off the British and Tories from the 
top of the mountain as if they were shooting squirrels. 
The slaughter was dreadful. 

The red coats of the British were a shining mark for 
the Deckard rifles. So many of the British regulars 
were killed that they could not be rallied for another 
charge. Ferguson then ordered the Tories to trim the 
handles of their butcher knives and insert them in the 



FIGHTING THE l\ \ A.DER 71 

muzzles of their muskets. This they did, and another 
charge was made, but with weakened effect. 

Ferguson rode bravely along his lines encouraging 
his men. Some fired from behind their baggage wagons, 
which were used as breastworks. Others were ordered 
to charge on horseback, but they were shot down by the 
riflemen as fast as they mounted. Ferguson gave his 
commands by means of a shrill whistle, which could be 
constantly heard above the din and roar of the battle. 

A Tory raised a flag of truce ? but Ferguson pulled it 
down. Another white flag appeared and he cut it down 
with his sword. The Americans admired Ferguson's 
bravery, but saw that his life stood between them and 
victory. He soon fell from his horse, pierced by six pa- 
triot bullets. 

By this time the British and Tories were so huddled 
together from the pressure on all sides that they were 
shot down by wholesale. Captain DePoyster, the next 
officer in command after Ferguson, raised a flag of sur- 
render and cried out for quarter. 

The victory was complete. The battle lasted only an 
hour and five minutes. The British force numbered 
eleven hundred and twenty-five men. When the smoke 
lifted from the mountain, two hundred and twenty-five 
British and Tories lay dead among the trees. One hun- 
dred and eighty others were wounded. None escaped. 
The prisoners were so numerous thai the Americans 
were at their wit's end as to how they should guard 
them. A thousand stand of arms and much booty had 



72 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

also to be cared for. The patriot loss was only thirty 
killed and about twice that number wounded. 

That night the stars looked down upon a heartrending 
scene. The mountain was slippery with blood. Scat- 
tered among the dead, the wounded still lay begging for 
water and moaning with pain. There were no facilities 
for treating wounds. Only one surgeon could be found 
in both armies. 

Colonel Williams, of South Carolina, had been shot 
down in attempting to reach Ferguson. He lived long 
enough to be told that the latter had been killed and his 
army defeated. ' ' Then, ' ' said he, "I die contented. ' ' 

The battle was fought on Saturday, October 7th. The 
next morning the Sabbath sun rose gloriously. The 
early part of the day was spent by the patriots in the 
solemn duty of burying the dead. They then burned the 
wagon train and the baggage of the enemy, and started 
on their return to Watauga. 

This great victory was the turning point in the strug- 
gle for American liberty. After this the Americans 
scarcely lost a battle. Thomas Jefferson afterward said 
that it set the seal to our independence. John Sevier 
was now the hero of Watauga, and every true Tennes- 
sean feels proud of what his ancestors did at King's 
Mountain. 



THE FIRST TEACHER 73 



The First Teacher 

When the first settlements in our State were being 
made, there was not much chance for going to school. 
Everybody was busy cutting down trees, building 
houses, and fighting Indians. The children were at 
work, too. The boys had to pile up the brush to be 
burned and cany wood for the big fireplaces. The girls 
had to milk the cows, and churn the butter, and help 
their mothers cook around the great kitchen fire. 

But this state of affairs could not last. The people 
believed in education. There were very few of them 
who could not read and write. They had been in school 
at their old homes east of the mountains. Now they 
wanted schools for their children. 

At first it was very hard to get teachers. The teach- 
ers did not come out into the new country with the first 
settlers. They did not think the wilderness was a good 
place in which to start schools. It was all right for 
hunting deer and fighting Indians, but not the place for 
books and study. 

Yet somebody was soon found to teach. In about ten 
years after Bean built the first cabin on the Watauga, 
Rev. Samuel Doak started a school of high grade in 
Washington county. He built his own schoolhouse out 
of logs. This was about the year 1 780. The school was 



74 TENNESSEE III STORY STORIES 

called Martin Academy. It was the first high school 
started west of the Great Smoky Mountains. 

Dr. Doak was a, very learned man. He was born in 
Augusta county, Virginia. When he was a boy, he had 
a great desire to get an education. His parents were not 
rich, and the necessary money was hard to get. But 
young Doak did not give up. He worked very hard, and 
at last graduated at the College of New Jersey. He then 
began to teach. 

It soon came into Doak's mind that he ought to be a 
minister. So while he was teaching school, he began to 
study such books as would prepare him to preach. He 
finished these studies in Hampden- Sidney College, in 
Virginia. He was a tutor in the college at the time. He 
was a preacher when he came to Tennessee, and he built 
a log church at the same time that he built his log 
schoolhouse. 

In those days it was quite common for a man to be a 
preacher and a teacher at the same time. He could 
preach on Saturday and Sunday and teach the rest of 
the week. Some of the best teachers were also preach- 
ers, and did a great deal of good in that way. 

In those wild, rough days it was also necessary to 
fight as well as to teach and to preach. So the ministers 
carried their guns to church and stood them up in the 
pulpit before they took their texts and began their ser- 
mons. The people in the congregation also sat with 
their shot pouches and powderhorns slung over their 



THE FIRST Ti: VCHER 75 

shoulders, and kept their guns lying* in the pew or on 
the floor. 

The good Dr. Doak always went armed to church. As 
he held his Bible in his hand, his gun was never out of 
reach. We are told that, while he was preaching one 
Sunday, some one suddenly ran into the little church 
and cried out, " Indians ! Indians ! Ragsdale's family is 
murdered ! ' ' Dr. Doak stopped his sermon at once. He 
then made a short prayer, in which he asked God to be 
with them, and, calling upon the men to follow, he led 
them away to battle. 



76 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The State of Franklin 

When the Revolutionary War came to an end, the 
new American government found itself greatly in debt. 
Nor was this all. The government had been formed in 
such a loose way that it had no power to levy taxes for 
the payment of its debts. 

Many plans were proposed for getting out of this 
difficulty. At last the Federal Congress asked that all 
the States owning public lands should give these to the 
general government. The latter would then sell the 
lands and not only pay its own debts, but also the debts 
which the States had incurred in helping to carry on the 
war. 

North Carolina agreed to this plan. In 1784 her legis- 
lature, sitting at Hillsboro, ceded to the United States 
all her lands west of the Alleghany Mountains. The 
national government was allowed two years in which to 
accept the gift. In the meantime North Carolina, would 
govern the territory, and, if the gift should not be finally 
accepted, the property would revert to her. 

When the people on the Watauga and in the other set- 
tlements heard what had been done, they were much dis- 
pleased. They said they had not been consulted about 
the matter. They were also wrongly informed about 
the details, and thought that they should have no gov- 



THE st \ti; OF FR 1 \ A /./ V 77 

eminent for two years. As the Federal authorities at 
that time had no fixed plan for governing national terri- 
tory and admitting new States, the western people also 
felt uncertain as to what would be their fate. 

There ought not to have been any misunderstanding, 
for the members of the legislature from west of the 
mountains were present at Hillsboro when the act ceding 
the territory was passed, and they voted for it. It was 
also generally understood that the western country 
would at some time be formed into a new State. This 
had been provided for in the constitution of North 
Carolina. 

The fact was that there had never been good feeling 
between the new settlements and the mother State. Each 
was disposed to be contrary and to do the opposite of 
what the other proposed. Thus it seems that large 
bodies of people, and even States, may behave no better 
than cross children. 

The people west of the mountains said that the State 
always treated them as if they were stepchildren. She 
grumbled when she had to pay out money for their bene- 
fit. She did not allow them a sufficient number of courts 
or proper military organization to defend themselves 
against the Indians. And now, to add insult to injury, 
the land office was ordered closed so that no more , land 
could be bought. Yet North Carolina had been careful 
to carry away their taxes, they said, as well as all the 
money paid for the public lands in the western country. 

After thinking it all over, the western people began to 



78 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

feel that they were nearly as badly oppressed as the 
thirteen colonies had been. The fact that they had shed 
their blood at King's Mountain to drive away the in- 
vader from the eastern counties seemed to count as noth- 
ing. And now to be ceded away without so much as 
saying, "By your permission ! " It was too bad. The 
time had come for action. They would form a new 
State and take care of themselves ! 

Why not? The population of the western counties 
had increased to twenty-five thousand. The frontier 
had been extended to what is now the heart of East Ten- 
nessee. Settlements had been made even as far west as 
Sevier county. A new wagon road, opened through the 
wilderness from North Carolina in 1777, had brought a 
better-to-do class of citizens. The people had scattered 
out from their forts upon fertile farms and schools were 
being established. 

In other words, the infant Watauga was indeed grow- 
ing into a stalwart youth of wider experience and 
greater powers. The people were beginning to feel their 
ability for self-government. They remembered what 
the Watauga association had done under much less fa- 
vorable circumstances. Yes; they would form a new 
State and take care of themselves ! 



THE 81 17 /' OF I i: VNKLIU 79 

II 

At this time there was no printing done west of the 
mountains. Besides, people were careless about pre- 
serving- records of eveiy kind. The result is that we 
have a very imperfect history of the State of Franklin. 
The historians are much mixed up in their accounts of 
the matter. Even the number of conventions that were 
held in forming the new State is uncertain. About 
many things you may therefore expect a difference of 
opinion. 

By common consent, each captain's company of mili- 
tia chose two men to form a committee in each county 
for considering the situation as indicated in the last 
chapter. These committees, having talked the matter 
over, recommended that the people elect deputies to meet 
in convention at Jonesboro. 

An election was held, and the convention met on Au- 
gust 23, 1784. John Sevier was made president of the 
convention. A committee was appointed to consider 
everything carefully. This committee reported that 
they were of the opinion that their case was indeed like 
that of the thirteen colonies. They therefore recom- 
mended separation from North Carolina and the forma 
tion of a new State. 

After hearing this report, the convention took up the 
question of forming a new State, and a. majority of the 
delegates voted for it. The boundaries of the State were 
not definitely fixed, as many of the delegates hoped Hi; 



80 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Southwest Virginia would become a part of it. There 
had been talk of forming a new State from all the moun- 
tain country. It was to include western North Carolina, 
southwestern Virginia, southeastern Kentucky, north- 
ern Georgia, and northern Alabama. Some people yet 
think it unfortunate that this was not done, because the 
people of these sections are in many ways so much alike. 

There was a large crowd of people outside the little 
courthouse where the convention sat. When the news 
of what had been done was announced from the door- 
step, they all shouted approval. 

The deputies then called a new convention to adopt a 
constitution and give a name to the new State. Each 
county was to elect five members. The new body was to 
meet September 16th at the same place, but somehow 
did not get together till later. 

When this second convention had organized, the va- 
rious members reported that the people were much di- 
vided in sentiment as to the best course to pursue. Many 
different opinions were expressed in the convention. 
There was no agreement, and the convention finally 
broke up in great confusion. 

The trouble was that the new movement had been en- 
tered into without any sanction of law. North Carolina 
still claimed control and ownership; nor was there any 
provision under the Federal government for such ac- 
tion. Those engaged in the movement were really, 
though doubtless without intending it, in a state of re- 
bellion against civil authority. 



I 111: STATE OF /'AM A KLIN 81 

By this time the legislature of North Carolina was 
again in session. News had come to that body that the 
national government was not going to treat North Caro- 
lina fairly in settling the debt question. So a vote was 
taken and the act ceding the western lands was repealed. 
The State would not give away her western settlements 
after all. 

The governor of North Carolina and other leading 
citizens had heard what was going on west of the moun- 
tains. They said it was wrong to form a new State, and 
called upon the western people to drop the matter. 

The people of North Carolina had at first thought that 
they would be glad to get rid of the western counties. 
Now, since the latter were so willing to go, they had 
changed their minds. The legislature even hastened to 
establish a superior court at Jonesboro. By its order 
the Washington county militia was formed into a bri- 
gade, with John Sevier in command. 

With this turn of affairs, many of the western people 
said they were satisfied and ready to go back under the 
government of the mother State. John Sevier felt that 
way himself, and said that they might as well give up 
the idea of a new State. He thought that all parties 
would have to agree about the matter before a new State 
could be formed. 

In those days there were very few newspapers, 
and news was carried by word of mouth and private let- 
ters. In tli is way the western people often got false 
ideas as to the action and intention of North Carolina. 



82 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

They also had their minds fixed on forming a new State 
government, and it was hard to change them. 

It seems that the convention last mentioned met again 
at Jonesboro. Others think it was a new convention that 
was chosen later. Sevier had been elected as delegate 
against his will, and was again made president of the 
convention. He yielded to the wishes of the people and 
again fell into line. 

A plan of government for the new State was agreed 
upon. It was to be submitted to a new convention for 
adoption or rejection. At the same time a legislature 
was ordered to be elected. 

Another convention met in December, 1785, at Greene- 
ville. The plan of government submitted by the former 
convention had met with so much opposition among the 
people that it was rejected. Rev. Samuel Houston then 
offered another constitution, which was also voted down. 
John Sevier, who was again president of the convention, 
proposed that they adopt the constitution of North 
Carolina with necessary changes. This was agreed to. 

Several names were proposed for the new State. 
Some members wanted to call it Frankland, or the land 
of freemen. Others suggested that it be named after 
Benjamin Franklin, the great American philosopher 
and statesman. The latter proposition finally prevailed, 
and it became the State of Franklin. Greeneville was 
made the permanent capital. It was then a rude village 
of perhaps twenty log cabins. 

The sessions of the convention were held in the county 



THE STATE OF I'h' 1 \ !\ U \ 



83 



courthouse. This was a small structure of unhewn logs, 
with only one door and no windows. The cracks be- 
tween the logs let in sufficient light. In such a lowly 
place was the State of Franklin born. 

The convention sent General Cocke with a copy of the 




Governor Sevier's Kesidence in Washington County 

constitution and a memorial to Congress asking admis- 
sion into the Union. Sad to* say, he was not received or 
even noticed by Congress. That body evidently' con- 
sidered the whole movement irregular and without the 
sanction of law. 

The Franklin legislature had met at Jonesbom early 
in the year 1785 and elected John Sevier governor of the 



84 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

new State and David Campbell judge of the superior 
court. Such offices are now rilled by a vote of the people. 

Martin Academy, under Dr. Samuel Doak, was 
granted a charter. This is believed to have been the 
first legislation in favor of education which occurred 
west of the Alleghany mountains. The institution stood 
near the present site of Washington College. 

Salaries of State officers were provided for. The gov- 
ernor received about $1,000 a year, and other officers in 
proportion. As before stated, there was at this time no 
printing press west of the mountains. So the laws of 
Franklin were never printed. They were published by 
reading them out at the militia musters, where all the 
people had gathered. 

Ill 

John Tipton was the leader of the old State party. 
When the new movement began, he was strongly in favor 
of it; but he soon changed and worked as zealously for 
the opposite side. Sevier ha , ' *dso wavered, but he went 
back to the new State party. 

Tipton held a North Carolina court at Buffalo', in 
Washington county. One day he brought a posse of 
men and seized the records of the Franklin court, which 
was sitting at Jonesboro, and put the justices out of the 
courthouse. He also broke up the Franklin court at 
(Jreeneville. Having been elected senator, he sat for 
awhile in the North Carolina Assembly. 

Much confusion had been produced by trying to run 



THE 81 I I r OF I /.' I \ l\Li\ 

two governments at the same time over the same people. 
There was little or no bloodshed, but much contention 
and quarreling. One party would lake away court re- 
cords and the other party would take them back again. 
In this way many valuable papers were lost. 

The people paid taxes to whichever party they 
pleased. .Most persons did not pay any taxes at all. 
There was uncertainty about the settling of estates and 
the probating of wills. People who wanted to get mar- 
ried never knew when the ceremony was legally per- 
formed. In after years the State of Tennessee had to 
pass a law to make the Franklin marriages legal. 

Finally everybody became so disgusted with this 
state of affairs that the leaders tried to make a compro- 
mise whereby both governments could run along 
smoothly, side by side, without any friction until the dis- 
pute could be settled. A meeting with this purpose in 
view was held on the 20th of March," 1787. Gov- 
ernor Sevier represented Franklin and Evan Shelby 
represented North Carolina. The latter was brigadier- 
general of the western militia which mustered under the 
old State. 

According to the compromise agreement, the people 
were allowed to pay taxes to either government. All law- 
suits were to be stopped, so far as possible. Each party 
was to have its own justices of the peace, but they were 
to use the same jail for prisoners. 

As this arrangement was not expected to last forever, 
each party was advised to eleet members to the Worth 



86 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Carolina legislature and instruct them to settle the whole 
matter in the way that they thought best. However, the 
compromise plan was not satisfactory to either party, 
and proved a failure. 

The governor of North Carolina, having been applied 
to by the old State party to send a military force to put 
down the opposition, refused to do so. Instead, he sent a 
very peaceful letter and an address to the people, advis- 
ing them to wait till they were better prepared before 
they formed a new State. Most persons accepted this 
advice. 

Sevier, doubtless in part on account of the antagonism 
between him and Tipton, hesitated to accept these terms. 
He formed an alliance with the State of Georgia to sub- 
due the Creek Indians and occupy the lands in the Great 
Bend of the Tennessee river. This was when the States 
were acting under the Articles of Confederation and 
were more independent in their actions than they were 
after the Constitution had been adopted. 

By this movement Sevier hoped to secure the media- 
tion of Georgia in favor of Franklin. He may also have 
thought that, if the worst came, he and his friends would 
emigrate to the Great Bend and be independent of their 
enemies. The last legislature of Franklin met in Sep- 
tember, 1787. It opened a land office and authorized the 
taking of the Great Bend country. 

In the latter part of 1786 the new State had tried again 
to get the old State 's consent to depart in peace. She ap- 
pointed General Cocke and Judge Campbell as commis- 



Til I, ST I 11. OF I /.' I \ A/./V 87 

sioners to plead her case before the North Carolina legis- 
lature. 

General Cocke went and made an eloquent plea, but 
Judge Campbell was detained at home by ill health. 
Governor Sevier and Judge Campbell both sent very 
kind letters, but nothing definite was accomplished. The 
governor of North Carolina wrote very kindly in return. 
His letter had the effect of weakening the power of the 
Franklin government. 

By 1787 the new government existed only in name. 
Nearly all its friends decided that the movement was a 
mistake, and deserted the cause. Sevier, being the 
leader, naturally hated to give up. He retired to Greene 
county and busied himself with protecting the frontier 
against the Indians. 

In the latter part of the year a writ was issued under 
the North Carolina government against the estate of 
Sevier on some plea of debt. It was executed early in 
1788, and Sevier's negroes were seized. They were car- 
ried to the house of Colonel John Tipton for safe-keep- 
ing. 

Sevier heard of the proceeding and came from Greene 
county with one hundred and fifty men to rescue his 
property. He besieged Tipton in his residence. After 
a series of skirmishes and the capture of a pail of Ins 
troops, Sevier finally withdrew. 

Sevier went off for some months on an expedition 
against the Indians. When he returned, he was arrested 
at Jonesboro by Tipton, who handcuffed him and sent 



88 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

him to Morganton, North Carolina, for trial. Some of 
Sevier's friends followed with his favorite horse. While 
the trial was in progress, they led the horse to the court- 
house door. Sevier ran out, and, leaping into the saddle, 
galloped off at full speed. He escaped over the moun- 
tains to his home on the Nollichucky. 

The North Carolina legislature passed an act of par- 
don for everybody except Sevier. He was treated as an 
outlaw. Yet Greene county elected him to the North 
Carolina senate, and he went the next fall to take his 
seat. After a hasty repeal of the act of outlawry, he was 
admitted. 

Sevier was soon appointed brigadier-general of the 
militia in the western counties. The year following he 
was sent to Congress as their first representative. Thus 
he was the first congressman from the Mississippi Val- 
ley. The little State of Franklin had passed quietly 
away. 



ABOUT HOAIB CURIOUS MO\BY 8U 



About Some Curious Money 

In the first settlements west of the mountains, the peo- 
ple had very little real money, such as we now use. 
What little they had was in the form of sixpences, nine- 
pences, and shillings. Our present system of Federal 
money, which includes cents, dimes, and dollars, had not 
then been formed, for the first settlements were made 
when the people lived under English rule. 

1 ' How did the people trade ? ' ' you ask. That was easy 
enough. In the first place, there was very little to buy. 
Nearly everything used was made at home. People 
tanned their own leather and made their own shoes. 
They raised flax, and cotton, and wool, from which the 
women spun thread and wove cloth to make the clothes 
of the family. 

Instead of hiring hands, the fanners assisted one an- 
other and "swapped work," as it was called. If there 
was any trade, it was hy barter. That is, if one family 
had more corn than was needed and another family had 
too much flax, they made an exchange. 

The truth is that money in the form of coins was 
rarely seen. A shilling would have looked as big to a 
little boy then as a gold eagle does now. People were so 
helpful to each other that but little money was necessary. 

Very few goods were brought into the country. Some- 



90 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

times a little money was sent back over the mountains to 
buy salt, guns, powder, lead, knives, and axes ; but even 
these were generally received in exchange for skins and 
furs. 

You know it was common among the Indians to> use 
for money a kind of shell called wampum. Its circula- 
tion, however, was almost entirely confined to the In- 
dians of New England and the seacoast. The Cherokees 
in our section usually traded with the whites by barter. 
For a few glass beads they would give a valuable lot of 
furs. So little business was done that there was really 
not much use for money. 

People for a time were under the government of North 
Carolina, but from 1784 to 1788, as you have already 
learned, they had a government of their own. When the 
State of Franklin was formed, they found that they must 
have money to run the government and to pay the sala- 
ries of its officers. 

Now, how to raise this money was a question that puz- 
zled the wisest statesmen. There were in the new State 
no mines of silver or gold, and there was no other way 
to get money into the country, except what little was 
brought in by new settlers and by the sale of furs. At 
last a bright idea came into the head of a legislator sit- 
ting in the Assembly at Greeneville, and he presented a 
bill which was passed. It allowed taxes to be paid with 
the skins of various animals, cloth, and other articles. A 
raccoon skin passed for one shilling and sixpence. A 
fox skin passed for the same. A clean beaver skin was 



92 TENNE88EE HISTORY STORIES 

decided to be the same as six shillings. Tow cloth was 
one shilling and ninepence a yard. Woolen cloth was 
three shillings and sixpence a yard, and good bacon six- 
pence per pound. Other things were in proportion. 

What big pocket-books these people must have had! 
We may well imagine that when a citizen went np to pay 
his taxes he carried his money on a pack horse or in a 
big emigrant wagon. However, taxes were then quite 
small, and very little money was required to pay them. 

This system of currency presented some funny situa- 
tions when the State officers applied for their salaries. 
You would have laughed to see the treasurer go to the 
great public safe, or storehouse, and count out to the 
governor one thousand deer skins as his salary for one 
year. His secretary had to be content with five hundred 
raccoon skins. The county clerk 's salary was three hun- 
dred beaver skins. Members of the legislature were paid 
only three raccoon skins a day, and the fee paid the con- 
stable for serving a warrant was only one little mink 
skin ! 

All this seems very odd, but you may find it in a speech 
made by Daniel Webster in 1838, and historians say the 
salaries could be paid in the barter received for taxes. I 
suspect that the State treasurers, in most cases, really 
sold the skins to traders, who were always glad to get 
them, and then the salaries of the various officers were 
paid in regular money. 

Though people in that early day had veiy little money, 
yet they got along very well and made much less com- 



ABOIT BOUE 01 RIODS M0NB1 93 

plaint about it than we do now, when the amount of 
money is so much greater. In those days there was no 
great wealth nor were there any beggars or tramps. Peo- 
ple lived more nearly all alike, and were usually con- 
tented and happy. 



04 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Sevier as an Indian Fighter 

We are told that John Sevier was an Indian fighter 
from his earliest manhood. He was not noted as a hunter 
like Daniel Boone. To ride at the head of a body of 
troops and make a wild charge gave him more pleasure 
than lonely hunting' hips through the wilderness. 

If John Sexier had been a general in our Civil War, 
he would doubtless Lave been a daring raider like Mor- 
gan, or a dashing cavalry officer like Custer. He did not 
skulk behind trees, or slip up on the I ndians under cover 
of darkness. He rode boldly in daylight at the head of 
his men, who yelled Like wild-eats and fired as they went. 

Sevier was no common backwoodsman. He was a 
man of culture and statesmanship, as well as a fighter. 
lie had not learned the art of war in any regular way. 
Yet, of his thirty-five battles every one was a victory. 
Like Napoleon, Stonewall Jackson, and other great 
geniuses, he surprised his enemies and overwhelmed 
them by the rapidity of his movements. 

It was wonderful to see how quickly Sevier could col- 
lect an army. Once some Indians fell upon the settlers 
in Knox county. Messengers Lurried to Sevier, who was 
eights' miles away on the Xollichucky. As soon as the 
news reached him, he mounted his swift bay mare and 
started at- Cull speed. 

At first Sevier had only half a dozen men, but he col- 
lected others as he went. Prom the cabins and the 



si:\ ill: LA I \ INDIA* FIGHTER 

woods, they came at his call. In three days he was 
within twelve miles of the Indian towns on the Tellioo 
with a force of one hundred and sixty men. Be fell 
upon the Indians like a thunderbolt, dealing death and 
destruction as he went. 

Sevier understood the Indian character perfectly. 
Me had a kind of instinct for knowing all their tricks, 
and he was bever caught by any of them. In making the 
raid just spoken of, he went up into the Greal Smoky 
Mountains to attack some Indians who lived along the 
Hiwassee river. After destroying three towns and kill 
ing a number of Indians, Sevier went into camp. lie 
sent out scouts, who soon returned and reported that 
they had struck the trail of a large army of Indians. 

Sevier knew that he must act quickly, and that the 
Indians were likely to lie in wait for him in the narrow 
defile through which, the road led. To return by thai 
route was certain, destruction. So he turned about and 
marched over the top of the mountain. He soon reached 
home without the loss of ;i single horse or a single man. 

It was not Sevier's plan to wait for an attack. When 
the Indians committed a murder in the settlements, he nl 
once gathered his riflemen and marched to the towns 
where these I lldians lived. ( )n his arrival at their towns, 
Sevier demanded that the murderers be j^iven up. If 
their friends refused to comply with this request, Sevier 
burned the town, destroyed the supplies of com, and 
killed the warriors. This seemed cruel, but it was the 
only way to bring the savages to terms. 



96 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Hunting and Exploring on the Cumberland 

After tlie Shawnee Indians left the Cumberland coun- 
try, all the territory between the Ohio and the Tennessee 
rivers was uninhabited, even by Indians. It was a vast 
hunting ground, which teemed with all sorts of game. 
The Indians from the north and from the south came 
here to hunt. They camped out in the woods and along 
the streams. Sometimes a hunt lasted several months. 

Finally the white men entered these great hunting 
grounds. They found vast herds of buffaloes and elks 
roaming over the grassy plains. The woods were full 
of deer, bears, wolves, and panthers. There was no cul- 
tivated land anywhere. Not even a cabin was to be seen. 

Here and there over the country were bare spots which 
the hunters called "old fields." In the center, or some- 
where near, salty water oozed from the wet ground. The 
grass had all been trodden away by thousands of wild 
animals as they gathered here to lick the salt. The buf- 
falo paths led into these places from every direction. 
There was one of these licks where Nashville now stands. 
It was near the old French fort or trading post. Hence 
the first settlement afterward made there was often 
called the French Lick. 

The white hunters from the old settlements had been 
through this country long before the settlers came. They 
trapped and hunted everywhere and had a profitable 
business. They carried great loads of furs back across 



HUNTING IND EXPLORING OA THE CUMBERLAND !>7 

the mountains or down the Mississippi to New Orleans. 

In 1766 the country was explored by Colonel James 
Smith. In his party was a Mr. Stone, for whom Stone 
river was named. They went down the Cumberland to 
its mouth. They found the country along the river very 
beautiful and the lands very fertile. Colonel Smith 
started on this trip in the month of June, and did not get 
back to North Carolina till October. 

The people who were with Colonel Smith went on to 
Illinois, where new settlements had been made. The 
people from the Illinois settlements often came to hunt 
on the Cumberland, and some of them afterward settled 
there. Everybody who saw the country wanted to make 
it his home. 

A few years later a party of hunters took several boat- 
loads of furs and bear meat down to Natchez. They 
were led by an old hunter named Mansker. As they 
floated down the Cumberland river they passed the old 
French Lick. Here they saw thousands of buffaloes. 
The woods rang with their bellowing and the noise of 
their battles. 

A large company of hunters went out to the Cumber- 
land in 1769. They started from a. place near Fort 
Chissel, in Virginia. They came by the head of the Hol- 
ston river and through what is now East Tennessee. 
Then going through Cumberland Gap, they passed over 
into southern Kentucky. At Price's Meadows, just in- 
side the Kentucky line, a place was chosen to store their 
game and furs 



98 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

These hunters now separated into several groups. 
They agreed to return and store their furs every five 
weeks. They went into different parts of Middle Ten- 
nessee. One party hunted along the western slope of the 
Cumberland Mountains. It was here that Robert 
Crockett was killed by Indians. They met him near the 
head waters of Roaring River on a war trail between the 
Cherokee nation and the Shawnee tribe. 

Wherever these hunters went, the country was covered 
with tall grass. Everything was in a wild state of na- 
ture. No evidence that anybody then lived in the coun- 
try could be found. Yet, the land seemed to have been 
inhabited many ages before. The hunters found many 
caves full of human bones. Under the shelving rocks 
along the larger streams, numerous stones had been set 
up, as if to mark human graves. This race of people had 
long passed away. 

When these hunters returned home, they gave glowing 
accounts of what they had seen. A great interest was 
aroused, and many explorers wanted to go to the new 
lands. The next year, Colonel James Knox led forty 
brave hunters to the Middle Tennessee country. They 
were well equipped with rifles, traps, dogs, and blankets. 
They were dressed in hunting shirts, leggings, and moc- 
casins. After many months of hunting and exploring, 
they returned home. On account of the length of time 
they had been absent, the name "Long Hunters" was 
given them. 



S'JE I ILLS Q MIDDLE TE \ A E88EE UU 



Settling Middle Tennessee 

The hunters and explorers opened the way for the set- 
tlement of Middle Tennessee. Wonderful stories about 
the new lands on the Cumberland were brought home. 
They told of the rich pasturage for cattle, the abundant 
game, and the fertility of the soil. 

The people on the Watauga kept hearing these stories, 
and, about ten years after the first Watauga settlement, 
many of them became very restless. They thought bet- 
ter homes might be found further to the west. 

In 1775 a treaty was made with the Cherokee Indians, 
at Sycamore Shoals, on the Watauga river. In this 
treaty Colonel Richard Henderson and others bought 
from the Indians a vast tract of land. It embraced all 
the country between the Kentucky and the Cumberland 
rivers. This had been a hunting ground of the Chero- 
kees. The Indians sold it for fifty thousand dollars, 
which was paid in rifles, blankets, beads, paints, and 
trinkets. 

That was a noted time for big land companies. Great 
quantities of land were bought and sold. It was said 
that as much as one thousand acres of beautiful land 
could be bought in the ( Jnmberland country for ten dol- 
lars. Everybody wanted to go and get the rich hinds 
that could be bought so cheap. 

L-OFC, 



100 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

James Spencer was one of the first to attempt a settle- 
ment. He was the old hunter about whom you have al- 
ready read. In 1778 he visited the country with a party 
of hunters from Kentucky. After building cabins and 
planting a crop of corn, the entire party, with the ex- 
ception of Spencer, became dissatisfied and left. Spen- 
cer remained and continued hunting, but he does not 
seem to have made a permanent settlement. 

In the meantime Captain James Robertson of Wa- 
tauga caught the "western fever." So he made up a 
party of friends and started out to- look at the new lands 
on the Cumberland. This was early in the year 1779. 

The country was still a vast wilderness. There were 
no roads to follow, except such paths as the buffaloes 
and wild deer had made. These led through the cane- 
brakes and forests, from one salt lick to another. Of 
course, there may have been a few Indian trails and 
some indistinct routes through the forests blazed out by 
the hunters on the trees. 

Robertson and his party took with them sacks of corn 
and other grain to be used in planting their new lands. 
Much of their support on the way was obtained by shoot- 
ing game. They thought that if they liked the new 
country they would have their families come out the next 
winter. 

After a long and tiresome journey, they reached the 
present site of Nashville. They picked out some rich 
lands and made ready to plant their corn. Much of the 
land was in wild grass and without trees. It was only 



SETTLING MIDDLE Tl\ VESSEE 101 

necessary to build a few rude fences and plow up the 
ground. In some eases no fences at all were built. 

The summer was spent in raising- their crops of corn 
and in building eabins. They were well pleased with 
the country, and decided to make everything ready for 
the women and children. We may imagine that they 
rose early and worked late to put everything in proper 
condition. 

Soon after their arrival, the noted hunter Mansker 
brought a party to the French Lick. Captain Robertson 
had gone to Illinois to see General Clark. He expected 
to secure from him titles to the land. The Mansker 
party thought they would settle also*, and they planted 
some corn that spring. In the fall they brought their 
families and located them at Mansker 's Lick, Bledsoe's 
Lick, and other places near by. 

Soon the crops began to ripen and the fall of the year 
was coming on. The cabins were finished and other prep- 
arations made. So Captain Robertson and his men 
started on their long trip back to Watauga to bring their 
wives and children. They left three men to take care of 
the property and keep the buffaloes out of the corn. 
When the corn should' be fully ripe, they would also 
gather it and store it away. 

ii 

Robertson and his men were received with great joy 
when they reached the Watauga. It took them several 
days to tell all the incidents of the trip and the wonder- 



102 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

f ul opportunities in their new homes on the Cumberland. 
Great interest had arisen in all the old settlements, and 
numerous parties prepared to go and find new homes. 

Now, there were two very different routes from Wa- 
tauga to the new Cumberland settlements. The first led 
through Cumberland Gap and by way of southern Ken- 
tucky. Robertson and his men had gone by this route. 
In this way they could keep further off from the Indians 
who lived to the south of the Tennessee river. This was 
.the land route. 

The other route was by water. Look on the map and 
you will understand it better. It led down the Holston 
river to the Tennessee; thence by the Indian towns be- 
tween where Chattanooga now stands and the Muscle 
Shoals in Alabama,; thence north across Tennessee and 
Kentucky to the Ohio river; thence up the Ohio to the 
mouth of the Cumberland ; thence up the Cumberland to 
the old French Lick. This route, as you see, was very 
long and difficult. It was also exposed to attack from 
the Indians. 

A flatboat, or unwieldy kind of barge, was at that time 
the only means of traveling by water. It floated with 
the current and was directed by crude paddles and 
poles. In coming up the Cumberland it could be forced 
along only with great difficulty. 

On the other hand, it was very hard to take women 
and children and household goods hundreds of miles 
through a trackless wilderness. In a boat, it would be 
like home to them every day. The greatest trouble was 



BETTUNQ MIDDLE I E \ VESSEl 103 

with the Indians. By going in large numbers and being 
well armed, it was thought this difficulty could be over- 
come. So Captain Robertson chose the river route for 
the families, while he went on by land with a select party. 
The fleet was put in charge of Colonel John Donelson. 

When Captain Robertson set out, he found that he was 
by no means alone. Hundreds of others were going from 
various points in the older settlements. Some had gone 
on before and others were to follow. He met Mr. John 
Rains going to settle in Kentucky. Captain Robertson 
told him it would be better to go* with him to the Cumber- 
land, and he did so. 

Before they reached their journey's end, the weather 
turned very cold. It was a severe winter. Snow was 
on the ground, and they nearly froze as they lay at night 
with little protection in the bleak woods. Besides, the 
lack of roads, ferries, and bridges made it very difficult 
to cross the large creeks and livers, especially when they 
were swollen by the rain and snow. 

It was some time in January before they drew near 
to the Lick. By that time their company had increased 
to two or three hundred men. Finding the Cumberland 
river frozen over, the entire party, including a largo 
number of cattle thai belonged to Mr. Rains, started 
across on the ice. When they were about the middle of 
the river, the ice cracked, and, from the report, the crack 
seemed to extend four or five miles up and down the 
river. Nevertheless, they reached the opposite shore in 



104 TEXXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

safety. Like the Israelites of old, they crossed dry-shod 
into the promised land. 

The various parties now scattered and settled at dif- 
ferent points near by. Most of thern stopped at the Lick 
and began to clear land. Some who had no shelter put 
up cabins. Most of these were placed together in rows 
so as to form an inclosed square, or fort. Stockades, or 
heavy timbers, were set up between them. Portholes 
and other means of defence against the Indians were 
provided. The work went on all winter, and by spring 
the country was dotted over with stations. 

As the winter passed away, anxiety began to be felt 
for the mothers and children. They were expected late 
in February. March was now nearly gone and still they 
had not arrived. Had they frozen in the very, very cold 
weather? Had the boats gone down with all on board? 
Had they perished at the hands of the savages? 

March passed into April. The men and boys were in 
the fields planting new crops. The woods were green 
and the wild meadows bright with flowers. Still no 
tidings ! 

The 24th of April had come ! The sun rose gloriously. 
There was only one shadow in all the settlement. That 
was the continued absence of their loved ones. 

Suddenly a cannon shot echoed among the river hills. 
Everybody rushed to the landing, and there, in full view, 
down the stream lay the fleet with its precious cargo. It 
was a joyful day in the settlements ! 



HOW THE FLEET CAME TO FRENCH LICK 105 



How the Fleet Came to French Lick 

In this chapter yon will learn what happened to the 
fleet on its long voyage to the French Lick. You remem- 
ber that it was under the command of Colonel John Don- 
elson. He wrote down an account of everything that oc- 
curred during the voyage. The name of his boat was 
The Adventure. 

Colonel Donelson made ready for the voyage at Fort 
Patrick Henry. This was on the Holston river not far 
from the Watauga settlement. It was the usual starting 
place for boats going down the river. 

After much worry and delay the boats pushed off on 
the 22d of December, 1779. There was quite a little fleet 
of flatboats and canoes. Those who could afford it fitted 
up their boats with more or less comfort and put up 
guards against the bullets of the Indians. Some of the 
poorer families paddled along in open canoes and did 
the best they could. 

The severe winter had already set in, and the fleet was 
soon stopped by ice and low water. The winds were 
piercing cold and there was no end of snow and ice. The 
boats hung upon so many shoals and met with so many 
mishaps, that more than two months had passed before 
they reached the mouth of the French Broad river. Look 
on your map and you will see that they had gone not 
much more than what would be a hundred miles by land. 



106 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

A little below this place Mr. Henry's boat struck the 
point of an island and sank. This island is thought to 
have been the same that recently formed a part of Col- 
onel Perez Dickinson's lovely "Island Home" near 
Knoxville. The beautiful hills on which Knoxville now 
stands were then covered with a virgin forest. 

The same day Reuben Harrison went ashore to hunt 
game. He got lost and did not return. Many guns 
were fired that night, but they failed to bring him in. 
The next morning a cannon was fired and many persons 
searched the woods. Guns were fired all that day and 
the next night, but without avail. 

The following day was the 4th of March, and still no 
tidings came from the lost young man. With sorrowful 
hearts the party set sail. They left old Mr. Harrison 
with several boats to> make further search. About ten 
o'clock that day the lost man was found by the fleet far 
down the river. 

That afternoon they passed the mouth of the Little 
Tennessee river and camped ten miles below. The next 
morning was Sunday. They got under way before sun- 
rise, and by noon passed the mouth of Clinch river. Here 
they met another fleet coming out of the Clinch. This 
was near where the town of Kingston now stands. 

The next day they kept on down the Tennessee. At 
the camp that night, Captain Hutching 's negro man 
died. He had been frost-bitten by the severe cold. 

There was a high wind the next day, and some of the 
smaller boats came near being swamped. At night the 



HOW THE FLEET OA Mi: TO FRENCH LICK 107 

voyagers camped in a deserted town of the Chickamauga 
Indians. Here a little baby was born in the family of 
Ephraim Peyton. Mr. Peyton had gone by land with 
Captain Robertson, but had sent his wife by the river 
route. 

The voyagers were now in the Indian country. For 
some time they were passing Indian villages. At the 
first village, the Indians seemed very friendly and in- 
vited them to come ashore. John Caffrey and Colonel 
Donelson's son started in a canoe to accept the invita- 
tion. They were met by some friendly Indians, who ad- 
vised them to return to the boats. They soon saw In- 
dians in war paint coming from the other side of the 
river. The fleet then moved off down stream. 

At the next town one of the boats got too near the 
shore. The Indians fired upon it and mortally wounded 
a young man named Payne, who was on Captain Black- 
more 's boat. 

II 

The people in one boat had smallpox. On this account 
they were required to keep at some distance in the rear. 
The boat was run by a man named Stewart. When the 
fleet stopped at night, some one blew a horn to notify 
Stewart that he must stop and not run into the fleet. 
Otherwise he would spread the disease. 

The Indians, seeing that Stewart's boat was alone and 
unprotected, made an attack upon it. The people on the 
other boats heard the cries of Stewart and his family, 



108 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

but could not help them. They were afraid of the small- 
pox. The Indians did not know about this, and were not 
afraid. They killed, or took as prisoners, Stewart and 
all his people. Many of the Indians afterward died of 
the disease. 

A large body of Indians kept following the fleet along 
the river bank. The great stream was now entering a 
gorge in the Cumberland mountains called ' ' The Suck. ' ' 
This was a few miles below where Chattanooga now 
stands. The river was not more than half as wide as be- 
fore and the current was very rapid. The scenery was 
wild and great cliffs overhung the stream. The Indians 
were left behind, and, it was hoped, would be seen no 
more. 

John Cotton and his family were making the voyage 
in a large canoe. In going through these rapids, he be^ 
came frightened at the foaming waters and took his 
family into Robert Cartright's boat. He fastened the 
canoe to the side of the boat- 
Just as the fleet entered what is termed the " Boiling 
Pot" the raging flood overturned Cotton's canoe, and its 
cargo was lost. Many of the people in the other boats 
pitied Cotton in his distress and went back to help him 
recover his goods. They had barely landed when, to 
their great astonishment, the Indians opened fire upon 
them from the cliffs on the other shore. They ran to 
their boats and pushed rapidly away. The Indians lined 
the bluffs and kept up their firing. 

The fleet soon passed through the "Whirl" where the 



110 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

water swirls in eddies. Then the river widened into a 
smooth, gentle current. The boat of Jonathan Jennings 
was missing. Just at the "Whirl" his boat ran on a 
large rock and the water rushed in. His friends were 
obliged to 1 leave him to the mercy of the savages. 

During the rest of the day, all that night, and the fol- 
lowing day till midnight, the voyage down the river was 
continued. Then they camped on the northern shore. 
It was the hope of all that their enemies had been left 
far behind. They were now in the northern part of what 
has since become the State of Alabama, 

The next morning before daylight they were startled 
from sleep by a cry of ' ' Help ! Help ! ' ' The cry seemed 
heartrending and full of sadness as it reached their ears 
through the darkness. "Help poor Jennings !" again 
cried the voice. It was at some distance up the river. 
In a few minutes a flatboat struck the shore, and in it 
were Jennings and his wife. The side of the boat was 
everywhere marked with Indian bullets. 

Jennings told them that after they left him, the In- 
dians turned all their fire upon his boat. He saw that, if 
he could lighten the boat, it would float off the rock. So 
he directed Mrs. Jennings and others to throw the cargo 
overboard while he kept the Indians off with his rifle. 
His son, with another young man and a negro, tried to 
escape by jumping to the shore. The negro was drowned 
and the young men were afterward captured by the In- 
dians. 

AVhen the boat had been lightened, Mrs. Jennings got 



HOW THE FLEET CAME TO FRENCH LICK 111 

out on the bank to push it off the rock. The boat floated 
out so suddenly that she came near being left. The 
swift current soon carried them out of all danger. Jen- 
nings and his wife showed numerous holes which had 
been cut in their clothes by the bullets of the Indians. It 
was a wonderful escape. 

Ill 

Within, a day or two the fleet reached the famous 
Muscle Shoals is the north Alabama country. There 
was a high tide in the river, and the water made a terri- 
ble roaring among the numerous islands and piles of 
driftwood. The stream spread out so wide and became 
so shallow that it was hard to keep in the current. Often 
the boats scraped the bottom of the river and were 
threatened with instant destruction. They shot like ar- 
rows here and there among the islands. In about three 
hours the fleet sailed twenty-five or thirty miles and 
came out into deep water at the foot of the shoals. Xight 
came on and the party went into camp on the north bank. 

On the 14th of March they were again fired upon by 
Indians while running too near shore. Five of the crew 
were badly wounded. That night when they were get- 
ting ready to camp -near the mouth of a creek, the bark- 
ing of their dogs so alarmed them that they thought 
Indians must be near. So they took to the boats and 
dropped further down the river. The next morning 
some of the party returned for a number of lost articles 
and found a negro still asleep by one of the fires. 



112 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

In five more days they had crossed what is now the two 
States of Tennessee and Kentucky. They were far to 
the north in the Ohio river at the mouth of the Tennessee. 
A high tide in the Ohio and a very rapid current made it 
very hard to go upstream. Besides, they were nearly 
out of food and were much discouraged. 

At this point several boats left them to go to the Illi- 
nois country, and others to go down the Mississippi to 
Natchez. Among the former were a son-in-law and 
daughter of Colonel Donelson. They parted, perhaps 
to meet no more. 

The next day with heavy hearts those who remained 
set out and made a little way up the river. On the 24th 
they came to what seemed to be the mouth of a small 
river. Could it be the Cumberland? They were in 
doubt. Still they decided to risk it. The current was 
gentle and they made good progress. The next day the 
stream grew wider, and they knew it was the Cumber- 
land. Colonel Donelson had put up a sail on his boat. 
It gave him much help. 

The following day was Sunday, and their dinner con- 
sisted principally of buffalo meat. From now on they 
ate whatever they could get. A swan which one of the 
party shot was eagerly devoured. 

On the last day of March the voyagers were much re- 
joiced by meeting with Colonel Richard Henderson. He 
was running the line between Virginia and North Caro- 
lina. Leaving Colonel Henderson to- complete his survey, 
the voyagers resumed their journey. After eleven days ' 



HOW I Hi: I l.i.r/l CAME TO FRENCH. LICE 113 

travel, they came to a little river that ran in on the north 
side of the Cumberland. It was Red river. Here Moses 
Benfroe and Ins family had decided to settle, and they 
parted from the rest of the company. It was now the 
12th of April. The long, hard winter was gone and 
spring was at hand. The soft winds came laden with 
the scent of flowers and the woods were getting green. 

How slow their progress! It seemed as though they 
would never reach their journey's end. They were so 
near and yet so far. Even with the hardest toil they 
could advance but a few miles upstream each day. They 
feared that even yet they might die in the wilderness 
without seeing their friends and loved ones. Not till 
the 24th of April, as you learned in the last chapter, did 
the fleet finally come to anchor under the bluff at the 
French Lick. 



1U TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Getting Powder and Saving the Fort 

Bobertson had not been long on the Cumberland when 
his people got out of powder. To be out of powder is a 
very serious matter on the frontier. Powder is neces- 
sary for the killing of game and for defence against the 
Indians. There was also a lack of food, and the prospect 
was so gloomy that many settlers left and returned to 
their old homes. 

In the midst of their distress, Bobertson said he would 
go to the Kentucky settlements and get powder and lead. 
He took with him his own son and Isaac Bledsoe. He 
also took a negro servant. They passed the Indian lines 
and wound their way through the trackless forests and 
plains. The weather was cold, but they made beds of 
leaves and slept under the trees, wrapped in their warm 
buffalo robes. Their greatest danger was from the In- 
dians, who might be met at any time in small parties. 

On their arrival at Harrod's Station, they first learned 
of the victory of King's Mountain and the retreat of 
Comwallis. This news revived their drooping spirits. 
Finding no powder at Harrod's Station, they pushed on 
to Boonesborough, where Eobertson hoped to get relief 
from his old friend, Daniel Boone. 

Boone divided his stock of ammunition with Eobert- 
son, but the quantity he received was so small that Bled- 



GETTING POWDER AND SAVING THE FORT 115 

soe decided to go across to Watauga for a greater supply. 
Robertson with his son and the negro returned to the 
Cumberland settlement, bringing a pack horse laden with 
ammunition. Robertson reached the Bluff on the 15th of 
January. All the inhabitants came' out to meet him, as 
if he had been a great deliverer. 

Robertson soon rode over to Freeland's Station, near 
by, where his wife and children were staying. Here he 
was again received with joy. There was not a charge of 
powder or a bullet remaining in the station. Yet the fort 
was liable to an attack from the Indians at any time. 

Robertson found his wife ill. A son had been born to 
him four days before. This was the first white child 
born in the vicinity of Nashville. He was afterward 
prominent in the State as Dr. Felix Robertson. 

There were ten families in the station. Robertson was 
kept up late that night, as he had to tell them all the news 
from the seat of war and what had happened on his trip. 
There were no newspapers or mails, and it was a great 
event when some one arrived with news from the outer 
world. 

One by one the company went off to bed. Robertson 
sat till midnight. At last he was alone with his wife and 
little boy. The bright moon shone down from a clear 
sky. Not a sound was heard in the sleeping fort. 

Everybody felt so secure that no one had been put on 
guard. Finally Robertson heard a noise. His keen ear 
was open to the slightest sound. He sprang to his feet 
and rushed out. "Indians! Indians !" he cried. The 



116 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

clasp that held the gate had been unfastened. The gate 
flew open and half a hundred Indians rushed in. Robert- 
son 's first fire brought down the leader. 

The men of the fort, who slept with their rifles in 
reach, rushed out at once and fired a volley at their foes. 
The Indians returned the fire, and one of the whites fell. 
For a few moments a hailstorm of bullets rattled against 
the cabins of the fort. Major Lucas was shot down, and 
the faithful negro who had been with Robertson on his 
journey fell riddled with bullets. 

Robertson's voice, shouting his commands, was heard 
above the din of battle. In the smoke and confusion, the 
Indians could not take good aim, nor could they make 
out the number of men in the fort. So they retreated 
toward the gate. The garrison at the Bluff heard the 
firing and hurried to the rescue. They fired their little 
cannon as a signal that they were coining. Realizing 
that the whites would soon be reinforced, the Indians 
took fright and left for parts unknown. 

The next morning five hundred bullets were dug out 
of the walls of one of the cabins. Numerous trails of 
blood were seen leading off into the woods. Robertson 
had returned none too soon with his supply of powder 
and balls. 



FIGHTING INDIANS AND MAKING LAWS 11' 



Fighting Indians and Making Laws 

For some months after the attack on Freeland's Sta- 
tion, there was great quiet in the Cumberland settlement. 
The warm days of spring came on. The people scattered 
abroad upon their farms. They were planting their 
crops and looking forward to a peaceful harvest. This 
was only the calm before the storm. 

One April day the scouts rode in from the woods and 
reported, " Indians." They said the savages appeared 
only to be hunting. When the scouts added that the 
Indians were Cherokees, Robertson said it was time for 
the settlers to be on their guard.* 

Robertson was now staying in the fort at the Bluff. 
He posted a sentry on the lookout every night. The man 
stood in a station over the great gate of the fort, from 
which point there was a good view of the country for 
miles in every direction. Other men in the fort got up 
at different times during the night to help in the watch. 

One night Jonas Menifee came out about an hour af- 
ter midnight. The stars were shining bright and every- 
thing was still. He climbed up to the roof of a block- 
house and looked down upon the cleared space around 
the fort. He thought he saw something like an Indian 
creeping along the walls. In a moment he leveled his 
gun and fired. A dark figure ran away and hid in the 
low undergrowth at some distance from the fort. Before 
daylight other Indians came and fired upon the fort. 



118 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The next morning Bobertson and a party of abont 
twenty men rode out to> attack the Indians. At some dis- 
tance from the fort three hundred savages rose from 
the bushes and fired upon Bobertson 's party. The 
whites dismounted to give battle, when they suddenly 
heard a war whoop in their rear. 

This second body of Indians soon got between the 
whites and the fort. Thus they were surrounded by 
about six or seven hundred redskins. At the same time 
their horses became frightened and broke away. This, 
however, proved a blessing in disguise. The Indians on 
the side next to the fort pursued the horses. This left a 
gap through which Bobertson and his people made a 
break for the fort, carrying their wounded with them. 

The Indians, seeing this movement, returned to- the at- 
tack. The people in the fort gathered at the gateway. 
The women stood with axes in hand ready to chop down 
the savages if they should come near. The most intense 
excitement prevailed. 

Fortunately there were about fifty large and fierce 
dogs in the fort. They had been trained to hunt wild 
bears and Indians. Mrs. Bobertson stood on the lookout 
over the gate with a rifle in her hand. * ' Open the gates, ' ' 
she cried, ' ' and let loose the dogs. ' ' 

Immediately the order was obeyed. The great noise 
outside the fort had excited the dogs to the highest pitch. 
They bounded forward with great fury and grappled the 
first Indians they met. The latter now turned to defend 
themselves against the dogs. In the meantime the 



FIGHTING INDIANS AND MAKING LAWS 119 

whites who still remained unharmed fled into the fort. 
AVhen Robertson arrived besmeared with powder and 
smoke, his wife stood waiting for him at the gateway. 

The Indians left about ten o'clock that morning. At 
night they returned with increased numbers and again 
opened fire. About midnight a large crowd of them 
gathered near the fort. The settlers then brought out 
their small cannon. As there were no balls, it was loaded 
with stones and gravels. One discharge sent the In- 
dians flying through the woods. They did not return to 
the attack, and the fort was left in peace for some time. 

Robertson was elected to the North Carolina legisla- 
ture in 1783. The State capital was seven hundred miles 
away, and half the distance had to be covered by follow- 
ing a bridle path through the woods. Robertson usually 
made the trip with a single companion. They took their 
dogs with them and shot game for food as they rode 
along. They built a fire at night under the trees, and, 
wrapped in their buffalo robes, slept peacefully till 
morning. As you see, his accommodations were quite 
different from the Pullman palace car in which our pres- 
ent legislators ride to their capital. 

Robertson made a number of these trips to the old 
settlements. His return was always a noted event. He 
brought the mail, for there was no mail carrier to the 
Cumberland in those days. At the request of his neigh- 
bors, he also brought various small articles of merchan- 
dise. It might be a pound of coffee, or a spool of thread, 
or a book. It sometimes took an extra horse to bring all 
these things. 



120 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Life in the Cumberland Settlements 

More than two years have passed since James Robert- 
son came from Watauga to settle on the Cumberland. 
Times have been hard with him and his people. It has 
been a struggle for food and even for life. Their Indian 
foes have never ceased to shoot, to> scalp, and to kill. 

Imagine what it is to live in the heart of a great wil- 
derness as these people did ! Suppose you were three 
hundred miles from any store where goods are sold. 
They had no mills to saw lumber or to grind corn for 
bread. There were no books. There was no post office 
and no newspaper. 

As far as the eye could reach, one saw only canebrakes, 
pea vines, wild grass, and forests. The land was beauti- 
ful and the soil was fertile, but there was no peace with 
the Indians, and little work could be done. 

When the people got up in the morning and went out 
to the duties of the day, they bade their friends farewell. 
They thought they might never return. If a- little girl 
went down to the spring to get a bucket of water, she 
said her prayers. There might be a painted savage lying 
in the grass, ready to shoot and scalp her. 

When the settlers gathered into the fort, at the close 
of the day, the usual question was, i ' Who is missing ? ' ' 
If all had come in with safety, they were thankful. 



LIFE IX THE CI MBERLAND 8ETTLEMENTB 121 

The country was dotted over with little forts, or sta- 
tions. Into* these the people gathered in order to be safe 
from the attacks of the Indians. 

A fort was made by setting heavy timbers upright in 
the ground so as to inclose an acre or more with a wooden 
wall. Sometimes a row of cabins formed a part of the 
wall. At one or more corners of the fort was a block- 
house. 

A blockhouse was built up higher than the walls of the 
fort and reached beyond the top of the walls. This was 
to allow those inside to shoot down through the floor and 
along the sides of the walls, in case any one tried to 
climb over the defences or set fire to< the fort. 

Inside the walls of the fort, cabins were built for liv- 
ing-rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and storehouses. A large 
fort had so much in it that it would remind you of a 
small village. 

In the blockhouses there were holes in the walls 
through which the riflemen fired upon the Indians when 
they made their attacks. In time of war you would 
scarcely dare to look out through one of these portholes. 
If you did, you might be killed by an Indian bullet. 

There was a big door, or gate, in one side of the fort. 
Through this everything was brought into the inclosuiv. 
In times of danger, and always at night, the gate was 
closed. A large beam passed across it and rested in 
strong sockets, to make the gate secure. Sometimes it 
was made fast with a big chain. 

When no Indians were near, the big gate was opened 



122 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

in the morning and the settlers went out to work. Their 
fields were near by, but some one always stood guard 
while the others plowed or reaped. Indian corn was the 
principal crop. 

There was plenty of wild grass for pasturage. All the 
cattle went out on ' ' the range, ' ' as. it was called. No» one 
thought of going to the trouble of fencing in pasture 
lands. All the low grounds were covered with a dense 
growth of cane. Upon this the stock browsed, even in 
winter. It also furnished them an abundance of good 
hay. 

Sometimes the growing crops were destroyed by the 
Indians, and most of the cattle were killed. Then food 
became very scarce. For a long time the people would 
have to live upon game alone. The white meat from the 
breast of the wild turkey was called " bread. " The 
steaks of the black bear were called "meat" It was 
hard to get even such food as this when the Indians were 
lurking around. These were called ' ' starving times. ' ' 

II 

And, again, there would be so little powder that it 
must all be saved to kill Indians. Then the hunters 
could take game only in traps. With these they man- 
aged to catch turkeys and even bears. Fish were also 
caught in large numbers from the Cumberland river and 
other streams. 

When the people first came from their homes in the 
older settlements, they had good clothes. In a short 



LIFE J\ THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENTS 123 

time, however, these began to wear out and had to be 
patched. In a lew years it was hard to tell what the first 
suit had been like. 

As new cloth could not be obtained, the people began 
to make suits from the skins of animals. A deer hide, 
when well dressed, was soft and fine. It made a beauti- 
ful pair of trousers, or a vest, or even a sack coat. This 
last was called a hunting shirt. 

The hunting shirt was bordered with x>anther hair or 
the fur of the bear. It was also ornamented by slitting 
the edges of the coat into fine fringes. The belt held it 
close to the body. 

Caps were made of fox skins, or raccoon skins. They 
were worn so that the tail of the animal hung down at 
the back of the head. Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett 
wore caps of this kind. 

A hunter's belt was made of tanned buffalo hide. It 
was dyed in some bright color. It held the owner's knife 
and tomahawk. In time of bloody wars, it may be that 
the scalp of an Indian brave also dangled there. 

Instead of shoes, the feet were covered with moccasins 
made of soft buffalo hide. These were well suited for 
hunting and war, as- the tread of the wearer could 
scarcely be heard. The " robes" of the wild buffalo 
were used instead of overcoats. They also furnished bed 
blankets in the greatest abundance. 

So it was not so bad after all to be out of reach of store 
clothes. Everybody was warm and com forta 1)1 e. There 
was some taste and style, too, about the dress. The deer- 



124 7/:\ \i:ssi:i: history STORIES 

skin jackets of the young girls, colored with various 
dyes, were even beautiful. 

The best houses were made of logs. They were 
roughly hewn and the cracks between them were daubed 
with clay. There was no glass in the windows. Some- 
times oiled paper was used instead. It let in some light 
and kept out the cold. 

The houses were very much the same as those of the 
Watauga settlers, which have already been described. 
As sawed lumber could not be had, floors were made of 
split timber. Shutters for the doors and windows were 
of the same material. Iron was so scarce that little could 
be used. Wooden pins were used instead of nails. The 
roofs were made of long clapboards held down by stones 
and heavy logs of wood. The doors were hung on 
wooden hinges. 

The furniture was simple. A roughly hewn table and 
a few splint bottom chairs stood in the main room. If 
there was another room, it contained a rough bedstead 
and a pile of buffalo robes. The latter alone sometimes 
formed the bed. 

The Revolutionary War ended in 1783. The colonies 
were now independent and the Indians made peace. 
There was new life in the settlements. Many who had 
gone back to the East now returned, accompanied by 
new settlers. Everybody rejoiced at the change. 

The people could now leave their forts and go out to 
clear more land and have larger farms. A land office 
was opened in a small shanty of cedar poles. The little 




A Settler's Cabin 



126 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

village that afterward became the great city of Nashville 
had a dozen log houses. 

An advance was made in government. The county of 
Davidson was organized. A courthouse eighteen feet 
square was built and courts were held. Captain Robert- 
son felt that, at last, a better day for his people was at 
hand. 



A BOY Willi NINE Li\LJti 127 



A Boy with "Nine Lives" 

One day young David Hood went out with two other 
bays to a place at some distance from the fort at French 
Lick. As they returned about nightfall, they met a body 
of Indians. The boys ran for their lives from the bullets 
of the savages. Before they could escape, however, all 
three of them had been wounded. 

Hood fell in the cane near the fort. Seeing no> other 
chance for his life, he turned over on his face and pre- 
tended to be dead. He supposed the Indians would go 
on and leave him; he would then have the opportunity 
to jump up and get away. 

Hood was right, but one of the Indians thought he 
would take off the dead boy's scalp before he left him. 
Winding his fingers in Hood's hair, lie began sawing on 
the top of his head with a dull knife. You may imagine 
how the boy felt! Knowing that his only safety de- 
pended upon his showing no> sign of life, he bore the 
pain bravely. The scalp finally came off without his 
having uttered a single groan. The Indian then gave 
him a few thrusts with his knife to make 'sure that he 
was dead. 

After the Indians had been gone for some time, Hood 
raised his head and looked around. Seeing no one, he 



128 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

rose to his feet, all covered with blood, and tried again 
to reach the fort. 

Hood could scarcely walk, and, before he had gone a 
great distance, he came upon the Indians again. They 
laughingly yelled to him that a dead man could not walk. 
He tried to run away, but soon fell with another bullet 
through his breast. 

To' make sure that he would not come to life a second 
time, the savages thrust their knives into* him on all sides 
and then threw his body into a brush pile. You will 
doubtless say that nobody could have lived through such 
experiences unless he had i ' nine lives like a cat. ' ' 

It was winter, and Hood lay freezing in the snow in 
the brush pile all night. His friends in the fort thought 
that he had been killed, but did not dare to come out for 
the body till the next morning. Then they followed a trail 
of blood in the snow and found Hood where the Indians 
had left him. Thinking he was dead, his friends bore 
him inside the gates and began to> prepare for another 
funeral. To have a funeral was now almost their daily 
occupation. 

In dressing the body, it was noticed that there were 
signs of life. The warmth of the place had started the 
blood afresh from his wounds. 

' ' Are you not dead ? ' ' said one of his friends. 

Hood seemed to awake as if from sleep, and in a low, 
husky voice replied, 4 ' No ! if you will only give me half 
a chance." 



A BOY WITH NINE LI1 ES 129 

He got well and lived many years to tell the story of 
his thrilling experience with the Indians. 

Hood no doubt got his idea of feigning death from 
the opossum. This animal adopts the same trick to 
escape from its enemies. On this account a little girl in 
the fort nicknamed him ' ' Mr. Opossum. ' ' 

One day the Indians scalped this little girl also when 
she went out of the fort on an errand for her mother. 
Hood then got even by calling her * ' Miss Opossum. ' ' 



130 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The Coldwater Expedition 

Though Robertson was a brave man, he was a man of 
peace. He would not go to war whenever he could avoid 
doing so. Yet, in 1787, the Indians were killing so many 
of his people that he felt that something must be done. 

It was noticed that most Indians who committed these 
murders left in a west or southwest direction. Then it 
was found out that they came from the Indian town of 
Coldwater, on the Tennessee river, where Tuscumbia 
now stands. 

Robertson decided to destroy this town. He set out 
with one hundred and twenty good horsemen, taking a 
Chickasaw chief named Toka for guide. They pushed 
their way through a wilderness of canebrakes and 
forests. 

After crossing Duck river and many other fordless 
streams, they finally came within ten miles of the Ten- 
nessee. They could now hear the roar of the great river 
making its way over the lower end of the Muscle Shoals. 
Some of the men were strongly reminded of how they 
passed these shoals in the fleet with Donelson. 

The next morning they reached the river and lay all 
day in the woods at the edge of a dense thicket of cane, 
which was in some places twenty feet tall. A path led 
down to the river and on the opposite bank was a de- 



THE COLDWATER EXPEDITION 131 

serted Indian village No sound was heard except the 
roar of toe river on the shoals above. During the even- 
ing two Indians came out from the south bank in a canoe 
and took a swim, in the middle of the stream 

That night Robertson gathered all the troops at the 
water s edge to cross under cover of darkness. Two 
men swam over and brought tie canoe used by the In- 
dians that day. It was so leaky that it had to be re- 
paired; yet it held together long enough to cany over 
forty or fifty men. The rest swam over by the side of 

sthbaT 

The town of Coldwater was about seven miles further 
down the river. When they had dried their clothes and 
primed their guns afresh, the little amy rode off at a 

coir* T\r ns severaj »** ** --d 

SEJEEE stmck the Indian town ' wMch they 

The Indians were taken by complete surprise, and 
made a h k{ their ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * 

of the creek Expecting this, Robertson had sent a force 
down the other side of the creek with instructions to 
conceal themselves in the cane and await the coming of 
the fugitives. The latter were looking back at their pur- 
suers and ran right into the hands of the party in 
ambush. J 

othZZft In l ianS W T Sh0t ° n the sl °P e of the hi »- and 
others after they reached their canoes. The remainder 



132 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

tried to escape by jumping from their canoes into the 
river, where the slaughter continued. 

There were several French traders in the town at the 
time of the attack. These tried to escape with the In- 
dians, and three of them were killed. Five or six others 
were taken prisoners. A large store of goods of all kinds 
was captured. Spanish guns and ammunition were 
found among the spoils. 

The town had been used by the French as a trading 
post, and it was evident that they had incited the In- 
dians to murder the settlers on the Cumberland. At 
the time of the attack, most of the Indians seem to have 
been away committing depredations. There were both 
Cherokees and Creeks in the place. Twenty-six of the 
latter jumped from the canoes and were killed in the 
river. 

Robertson returned to the Cumberland without the 
loss of a single man. The booty was sold and the money 
was divided among his soldiers. It was just nineteen 
days from the time they started till they were back at 
home again. 



THE BROW VS CAPTl RED in IND1 I \> 133 

The Browns Captured by Indians 

Colonel James Brown, who lived in North Carolina, 
had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The gov- 
ernment, desiring to reward him for his services, gave 
him the right to select enough land on the frontier to 
make a home for himself and his family. 

Colonel Brown had heard much of the fine lands on 
the Cumberland river. He therefore made a trip to 
that part of the country, and picked out a good farm 
about two miles from where Nashville now stands. In 
1788 he prepared to take his family to their new home in 
the wilderness. 

It was still very hard to get to the Cumberland set- 
tlements. No good roads had been built, and the 
Indians were dangerous. Colonel Brown thought it- 
would suit him better to go by the river route, which 
was clown the Tennessee and then up the Ohio and 
the Cumberland rivers. You remember this was the 
route that Colonel Donelson and his party took when 
they went to the French Lick. 

Colonel Brown built his boat on the Holston river near 
Long Island. The place he selected was not far from 
the Virginia line, and probably near the starting point 
of the expedition under Colonel Donelson. 

The boat was so built by Colonel Brown that it 
served as a fort for defence against the Indians. The 
sides were barricaded with heavy timbers. In each side 
there was a row of portholes. In the rear end of the 



134 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

boat Colonel Brown placed a small cannon. The In- 
dians were then supposed to be at peace with the people 
of North Carolina,, but it was not wise to trust one's self 
in their power. 

The family of Colonel Brown consisted of himself, 
his wife, and nine children. He had four sons, five 
daughters, and several negroes. Five young men were 
also going with him to settle in the new country. Two 
of his sons were full-grown. Altogether there were in 
the party seven or eight good marksmen. Thus the 
whole party felt able to take care of itself. 

They pushed off their boat on the 4th of May and 
floated down the beautiful Holston river. Their voyage 
promised to be more pleasant than that of the Donelson 
party. The spring floods had come and the current was 
strong. The weather was warm and delightful. The 
young leaves covered the trees and green grass and 
brightly colored wild flowers extended on all sides as 
far as the eye could reach. 

It was easy to kill plenty of game along the banks of 
the river. They landed to hunt during the day or went 
out from their camping places when they stopped for 
the night. It seemed to all that they were going to have 
a delightful voyage. 

When the weather was fine and there was enough 
light to make the current visible, Colonel Brown kept 
his boat running all night. Thus he made good time. 
In five days he was far down the Tennessee river near 
where Chattanooga now stands. 



THE BROWNS CAPTURED BY INDIAN 8 135 

On the 9th of May, as day was breaking, they began 
to run by the villages of the Chickamauga Indians. In 
passing a little town, about sunrise, a canoe pushed off 
from the shore. It came directly toward Colonel 
Brown's boat. In the canoe were an Indian chief and 
two warriors. 

These Indians asked permission to come aboard. As 
they seemed friendly, Colonel Brown made no objec- 
tion. The chief's name was Cutleotoy. He stayed on 
the boat but a short time and then rowed back to the 
shore. 

Near this place the river makes a great curve, now 
called Moccasin Bend. Cutleotoy sent a runner across 
the narrow neck of land formed by the bend to tell the 
Indians in the lower towns that a boat was coming, and 
that they must rob the boat and kill everybody in it. 

II 

When the boat reached Nick-a-jaek town, a large 
crowd of Indians rowed out in their canoes. Colonel 
Brown was about to fire the cannon at them, but they 
said they were friendly and only wished to trade. He 
then let them come aboard. 

In this Colonel Brown made a great mistake. The 
Indians soon began to carry everything out of the boat. 
When Colonel Brown objected to their conduct, they 
killed him and threw his body into the river. 

Young Joseph Brown was captured and taken ashore. 
Very soon, when those left in the boat started to land 
lower down, the Indians on the shore began firing. All 



136 TEXXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

the men on the boat were killed. Mrs. Brown and her 
children were made prisoners and carried away. 

Joseph was taken to the cabin of a half-breed Indian 
named Job Tnnbridge. The mother of this Indian was 
a French woman. She had been captured by the In- 
dians when she was a little girl. When she grew up 
she married an Indian, who was the father of Job. 

After the death of her first husband, the French wo- 
man married an Irishman named Thomas Tunb ridge. 
He had deserted from the British army, and had come 
to live among the Indians. It was this man with whom 
she now lived. Job Tunbridge claimed young Brown 
as his captive, and gave him to his aged parents as their 
slave. 

It was not long before Cutleotoy, the Indian chief, 
came along and found Joseph in the Tunbridge cabin. 
He had come down to Nick-a-jack to see how things were 
going on. He declared that it would never do to keep 
Joseph alive, for he would soon get away and then come 
back with an army to kill all the Indians. 

When old Mr. Tunbridge pleaded that Joseph 's life be 
spared, the chief became so enraged that he raised his 
tomahawk over the captive. It seemed as if he would 
murder him on the spot. Mrs. Tunbridge begged that 
he would not kill him in her house. 

Cutleotoy then took Joseph out of the house. He was 
at once surrounded by a crowd of savages. They had 
their guns cocked and their knives drawn, ready to put 
the young man to death. 



TEE BROWNS CAPTl BED Bl INDIA \s 137 

Joseph begged that he might have half an hour in 
which to pray. He supposed that he had only a. short 
time to live. The Indians stripped off his clothes so as 
not to get them bloody. He then fell upon his knees, 
and, like the martyr Stephen, cried: "Lord Jesus, into 
thy hands I commend my spirit!" 

In the meantime Mrs. Tunbridge asked Cutleotoy 
what prisoners he had taken. Some one answered that 
he had captured a negro* woman and sent her home. 
"Then," said she, "if you kill this boy, who is my son's 
prisoner, my son will avenge his death by killing your 
negro. ' ' 

Joseph was still praying. He did not understand 
what was said, for they spoke in the Cherokee language. 
He was expecting every moment that the tomahawk 
would fall upon his head. 

At last Joseph thought of Stephen's looking up into 
Heaven during his last moments. Raising his eyes he 
looked into the faces of the Indians, and saw that their 
countenances had changed. This was his first sign of 
hope. Cutleotoy had decided that he would spare Ins 
life, because he feared that his own captive would be 
killed for revenge. 

Cutleotoy then told old Mr. Tunbridge to come and 
take Joseph. He said that he loved the young captive 
and would let him live. Joseph's clothes were then re- 
turned to him and he was permitted to go back to the 
Tunbridge cabin. 

Young Brown naturally Pelt very grateful to Mrs. 



138 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Tunbridge for saving his life. Yet he afterward found 
that she, too, had a selfish purpose in what she did for 
him. One day she told him that she hated the white 
people. She declared that her sole reason for saving 
his life was that he might be her slave and dig potatoes, 
and hoe corn, and carry wood for her. 

Ill 

The second day after Brown was captured, the chief, 
or head man of the town, sent for him. This Indian's 
name was Breath. He did not believe in making war 
upon the white people. 

Breath had gone off to visit another town on the day 
that Colonel Brown's boat was taken by the Indians. 
He was not pleased with what had been done. He 
boasted that he had never stained his knife in the blood 
of a white man. 

Breath had a long talk with Joseph. He decided that 
Joseph must be dressed up like an Indian and be 
adopted in some good Indian family ; he said that if this 
was not done the other Indians would probably kill Jos- 
eph. He also said that his own family was one of the 
strongest in the nation, and that Joseph would better be 
received into it. 

It was now the 11th day of May. On the same day 
Breath took young Brown and made an Indian of him. 
Holes were bored in his ears and all his hair was cut off 
excepb a scalp lock on the top of his head. He was then 
dressed in short shirt and a flap such as the Indians 
wore. 



THE BROWNS OAPTl RED in INDIANS 139 

The newly-raade Indian was now sent back to the 
home of Job Tunbridge. Job's father insisted that 
Joseph was a member of his family also. He was to 
call old Mr. Tunbridge ' ' uncle ' ' and call Job ' ' brother. ' ' 

The next day Joseph was sent out to hoe corn. It was 
a very warm day, and the Indian costume that he wore 
was only a slight protection against the heat of the sun. 
By noon his thighs and neck, the back of his head, his 
forehead, and his ears were all blistered from the heat. 
His suffering was so great that he almost fainted. 
"But," said he, in telling his story in after life, "the 
Lord was good and sent a thunder cloud and drove us 
all out of the field. ' ' The next day it was still raining, 
and Joseph rested all day. By the third day he had so 
far recovered that he was able to go out to work again. 

This was not his only hardship. He had to dig pota- 
toes, get wood for the fires, and do all kinds of slavish 
labor. As winter came on, he suffered much from the 
cold. The Indian clothes which he had to wear gave 
him little protection. Night often found him wea^v and 
very hungry. 

When the young man thought of what had happened 
to himself and his people, he was sick at heart. His 
father had been killed like a dog and thrown into the 
river. His older brothers were shot down in cold blood. 
His poor mother and his little brothers and sisters had 
been carried away captive. What sad fate they had met 
with he did not know. He felt very lonely and wretched. 

A grandson of Mrs. Tunbridge went everywhere with 



140 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Joseph. When they saw any Indians coming, the boy 
told him whether they were Creeks or Cherokees. If 
they were Creeks, Joseph must get out of the way, for 
the Creeks would kill him. 

Joseph was also told that he must not look at a Chero- 
kee when he met one. It would make the Indian very 
angry to be looked at by a white captive. He had never 
seen any Indians before, and all their actions were 
strange to him. 

Once Joseph and this little boy were sent to bring- 
some water to the house. They saw several Indians sit- 
ting around the spring. At first the boy thought they 
were Creeks, and was about to warn Joseph to get away. 
Then he said that they were Cherokees, and both boys 
went on to the spring. 

While they were filling their buckets Joseph was care- 
ful not to look at the Indians. As the boys were leaving 
the spring, two* of the Indians mounted their horses and 
started to ride away. 

Joseph could not resist the temptation, and stole a 
glance at one of the Indians. The Indian had one side 
of his head painted red and the other side painted black. 
A human scalp hung on his breast. W^hen the Indian 
saw Joseph looking at him, he jumped to the ground 
and beat him cruelly. These Indians had been off on 
the warpath with the Shawnees. 

IV 

After a while Joseph was surprised to learn that two 
of his sisters lived very near Mm. They were in the 



THE BROW \ s r\nt RED 1!Y IND1 I \ 8 141 

same town of Nick-a-jack. When Colonel Brown's boat 
was taken, these two little girls, Jane and Polly, fell into 
the hands of some Creek Indians. The savages started 
to carry them away to the Creek nation. This was fur- 
ther to the south, in what is now Alabama. 

The Indians in Nick-a-jack were mostly Cherokees. 
They pursued the Creek Indians and recaptured the 
little girls. Jane and Polly were then brought back to 
Nick-a-jack and placed in the family of a Spanish 
trader. It was here that their brother Joseph found 
them. 

Joseph was allowed to go to visit his sisters. From 
them he learned that his mother had been carried away 
by the Creek Indians. They had taken her to their own 
towns on the Tallapoosa river. His little brother George 
and two younger sisters had been taken along at the 
same time. 

Polly and Jane could not tell Joseph anything more 
about their mother. He afterward learned that the In- 
dians treated her very cruelly. They made her walk 
over rough ground for two hundred miles. Her feet 
were blistered and sore. She was not even allowed to 
take the gravels out of her shoes. At the end of her 
journey she fell into the hands of a brutal chief, who 
made her his slave. ' 

When Joseph thought over all these things he was 
nearly ready to give up in despair. Yet his mind often 
went back to what Cutleotoy said the first day that he 
saw him a captive in the wigwam of Tunbridge. " He is 



142 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

old enough, \ ' said the chief, * l to notice everything, and 
some day he will escape and guide an army here and 
destroy us all." Joseph Brown hoped that this might 
come true. 

Joseph now began "to notice everything" sure 
enough. He was obedient to the Indians who had 
charge of him, and seemed to be cheerful. He did his 
hard tasks readily, but he kept both eyes and ears wide 
open. Having learned the Cherokee language, he picked 
up all the information that he could. His plans for the 
future began to take definite shape. 

Joseph remembered that these Cherokee Indians who 
lived in the Chickamauga towns had given the white 
people a great deal of trouble. When they were at- 
tacked, they always retreated into the mountains and 
could not be taken. This was because nobody knew the 
secret paths of the mountain country. 

The old chief Breath lived near a great cavern which 
has since been known as the famous Nick-a-jack cave. 
Joseph was often sent toi him on errands. In this way 
he learned that the cave 1 was a hiding place for the In- 
dians. It was large enough to hold all the Indian na- 
tion, and only a, few men were necessary to defend its 
entrance. 

Joseph now felt that he held the secret that would 
lead to* the capture or destruction of the Indians. His 
tasks grew heavier day by day, and he longed for the 
time when he should lead an army to cut the Indians off 



/ III. BBOWN8 CAPTURED BY l\ 1)1 \ \ s 143 

from their stronghold. They would then be at his 
mercy. 

Finally General John Sevier invaded the Cherokee 
country. He captured many women and children in the 
towns on the Coosa river. These he proposed to ex- 
change for white captives among the Indians. 

The Indians did not like to give up all their captives, 
but General Sevier said that not one must be left behind. 
Little Polly Brown had learned to love her Indian 
"mother," and wept bitterly when they were parted. 

Jane Brown had been taken off to live at a place thirty 
miles away. It was very hard to get her back. Finally 
Joseph and these two sisters were exchanged and taken 
back to the home of their uncle in North Carolina. 

Mrs. Brown was among the Creeks in Alabama, and 
could not be reached at that time. After many months 
she and the other children had the good fortune to be 
restored to their friends in the Carolinas. 

Joseph grew rapidly, and was soon a, man. He then 
carried out his father's original intention. He took his 
mother and the remaining children to settle on their 
land near Nashville. You will learn in another chapter 
how he made true the words of Cutleotoy. 



144 TEWUSStiti H1ST0EY STORIES 



William Blount and his Government 

In 1789, the question of ceding all the western lands 
to the general government was still discussed. It was a 
favorite idea with Hamilton, who was secretary of the 
treasury under Washington. He also thought that in 
return for these lands the United States should pay the 
debts that the States had made during the Revolution- 
ary War. 

North Carolina continued to favor the proposition, 
and in 1790 made a final gift of her western territory to 
the United States. The national government was now 
in a better position to control territory. The gift was 
accepted at once and a government for ' ' The Territory 
South of the River Ohio, ' ' as it was called, was organ- 
ized. 

William Blount was appointed governor by President 
Washington. He was a citizen of North Carolina, and 
it seemed entirely proper that the governor should come 
from that State. Governor Blount was one of Wash- 
ington's special friends. He had been a member of the 
convention that framed the Federal Constitution, and 
it is probable that Washington became well acquainted 
with him at that time. 

Governor Blount was of an ancient English family 
that had settled in North Carolina at an early date. He 



WILLIAM BLOl \l VNB HIS Q0VEBNMEN1 145 

was aristocratic in his manners and had a veiy formal 
and stately address. In all his public affairs he liked 
ceremony. Yet he commanded the respect and affection 
of all classes of people. 

The appointment was considered a good one, for Gov- 
ernor Blount was a man of affairs and had considerable 
experience as a statesman. Besides, he was well posted 
on Indians matters, with which he would need espe- 
cially to> deal. 

The government of the Territory was very simple. 
The governor had associated with him three judges, 
David Campbell, Joseph Anderson, and John McNairy. 
Daniel Smith was made secretary. Two brigadier-gen- 
erals were appointed, John Sevier over Washington dis- 
trict and James Robertson over Miro district. 

The first court was held at the house of William 
Cobb in the fork of the Holston and the Watauga rivers. 
For a short time Rogersville was the capital of the Ter- 
ritory. The seat of government was then removed to 
Knoxville, where it remained. 

The first house was built at Knoxville in 1786, but 
the town was not laid off till 1792. ■ At this time it had 
about two hundred and fifty inhabitants. The village 
had grown up around a fort which was built by James 
White. It took its name from General Knox, who was 
secretary of war under Washington. The Knoxville 
Gazette began publication about the same time. It was 
the first newspaper in Tennessee. 

Governor Blount was also appointed superintendent 



146 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

of Indian* affairs by President Washington. His method 
of dealing with the Indians was very different from that 
of John Sevier. Blount relied more on ' ' big talks, ' ' in 
which he impressed the Indian chiefs by stately cere- 
monials, and closed by signing a treaty. 

During the summer of 1791 Governor Blount held a 
noted conference with the Cherokees at Knoxville. He 
appeared in full dress, with military hat and sword. 
He stood with his officers around him under some tall 
trees on the bank of the river, while forty-one Indian 
chiefs were introduced to him in a very impressive way. 
Twelve hundred other Indians were also present. A 
treaty of perpetual peace and friendship was made. It 
is known as the Treaty of Holston. 

At the time the territory was organized, it was pro- 
vided that the people might have a territorial legisla- 
ture when the population, reached 5,000 voters. The 
legislature was to consist of the governor, a legislative 
council appointed by Congress, and a house of represen- 
tatives elected by the people. An election was held and 
the members of the first house met in February, 1794. 
They recommended • to Congress the names of worthy 
men from which to select a council. After attending to 
some other minor matters they adjourned. 

The first full territorial legislature assembled at 
Knoxville on the 25th of August, 1794. Before this laws 
had been made by the governor and the judges asso>- 
ciated with him. 

The legislative council met in the military barracks. 



WILLIAM BLOUNT AND HIS GOVERNMENT 147 

The lower house sat in another room of the barracks or 
in Carmichael's Tavern, on Cumberland street. They 
came together in joint session in the courthouse. The 



Carmichael's Tavern— Tennessee's First Statehouse 

lower house would assemble as early as seVen o'clock in 
the morning. 

You would perhaps wonder at some of the rules of 
decorum adopted by the house. The first one was, 
"When the speaker is in the chair, every member may 



148 TEXXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

sit in his place with his head covered." That is, he 
could wear his hat, or his coonskin cap, as he liked. 

The second rule provided that at all other times when 
in the legislative hall, except when sitting in his place, 
the member must have his head uncovered. The eighth 
rule was, "He that digresseth from the subject to fall 
on the person of any member shall be suppressed by the 
speaker. ' ' 

The legislature was in session only thirty-seven days. 
The members did their work quickly and well. Two 
colleges were established, Greeneville College and 
Blount College at Knoxville. They voted a land tax 
of twenty-five cents on the one hundred acres. The 
council thought fifteen cents was enough, but finally 
yielded to* the house. The whole cost of the session was 
only about twenty-seven hundred dollars. 

Many of the members boarded in the country and 
walked back and forth to the sessions. A carriage was 
unknown at that time in Knoxville. The place con- 
tained only about ninety families. At the close of the 
session the members from the Cumberland settlements 
were furnished a guard to accompany them home and 
ward off the savages. 

You will find further mention of Governor Blount in 
the chapter telling of the organization of our State. 
Blount county was named for him, and Maryville, the 
county seat, for his wife, Mary Blount. Governor 
Blount died at the age of fifty-three, and was buried at 
Knoxville. You may find his grave just inside the fence 



WILLIAM BLOl \l 1 \ // HIS GOVEBNMBm 149 

to the left of the entrance to the First Presbyterian 
churchyard. His wife, Mary Blount, lies by his side. 
Old-fashioned stones, lying flat upon a brick support, 
mark their last resting place. 



150 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Attack on Buchanan's Station. 

In 1792 Buchanan's Station, four miles from Nash- 
ville, was- attacked by Indians. Some time before the 
attack word reached the station that the Indians were 
coming 1 , and about twenty-five families had gathered 
into the fort. Two scouts were sent to> find out some- 
thing about the hostile Indians. They fell into the 
hands of the savages, and both were killed and scalped. 

As the scouts did not return, the people in the fort sup- 
posed that they had found no Indians in the neighbor- 
hood and had gone on further. So all the men went to 
bed and left Mrs. Sally Buchanan sitting up in the kit- 
chen. It was Sunday evening. 

Late in the night, while there was a dead silence, Mrs. 
Buchanan heard something in the distance. She thought 
it was the scouts coming back to report what they had 
found out. All at once the cows and horses that be- 
longed to the fort began to run about wildly and to make 
a great noise. Mrs. Buchanan's mother had told her 
that this was a sign that Indians were near. 

She sprang to her feet and cried, " Indians! In- 
dians !" In an instant the men in the fort jumped out 
of bed, and, snatching their guns, ran to the portholes, 
where they could see the savages preparing to make an 
attack. 

There were only nineteen men in the fort to beat back 



ATTACK ON BUCHANAN'S STATION 151 

a host of savages— some say six hundred. However, 
the fort was strong and the brave scout Castleman was 
there, and others who were equally skilled in Indian 
warfare. 

The Indians were first seen by a man named Mc- 
Rory. He fired the first shot and killed the leader of 
the attack. The riflemen were scarce of ammunition, 
and wanted to make every shot count. Soi they did not 
fire till the Indians had nearly reached the walls of the 
f ort. Then they cut them down with a deadly aim. 

Many of the women seized guns and fired from the 
portholes with their husbands. Even the children as- 
sisted by holding up hats at the: unoccupied portholes 
in order to draw a harmless fire from the Indians and 
make them believe that the fort was full of armed men. 
The Indians had thought the fort was weakly defended, 
and were surprised that it now seemed full of riflemen. 

It was soon discovered that the scouts who had been 
sent out took away with them most of the bullets in the 
fort. Knowing that all the men were needed to fight 
the savages, Mrs. Buchanan, accompanied by the other 
women of the fort, rushed into the kitchen and began to 
mould bullets by the fire. 

In the old way of moulding bullets there was always 
a neck, or stem, left, which had to be cut off. While 
some of the women were melting lead and moulding, 
others would cut off the necks as fast as the bullets were 
turned out of the moulds. 

As soon as a goodly number of bullets were ready, 



152 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Airs. Buchanan gathered them up, and, rushing out, 
cried aloud: "Here, men! Here are bullets for you! 
But mind, now! Don't waste them. Every one must 
make a hole in a redskin. 

The Indians tried to burn the fort. One warrior got 
upon the roof with a lighted torch and was applying it 
to the clapboards. Just then a, bullet struck him and 
he fell to the ground. There he tried to set fire to the 
wooden walls, but he was killed before he succeeded. 
The next morning the dead Indian was found to be Job 
Tunb ridge, the half-breed who had captured Joseph 
Brown at Sunning Water town, and held him as a slave 
among thfe Chickamaugas. 

The heroic spirit of the women encouraged the men 
to fight with great bravery. So many Indians were 
killed and the guns made such a loud noise that the sav- 
ages became frightened and left without doing any se- 
rious harm. They were, in fact, so badly scared that 
they left the country and went back to their own homes. 



ATTACK o.Y Hi CE I \ I V'B si \TION 153 



The Prophecy Fulfilled 

It is now 1794, and Joseph Brown has grown to be a 
man. The time is near when the prophecy of Cutleotoy 
will be fulfilled. 

The Chickamauga Indians still roam in small bands 
about the Cumberland settlements and kill and scalp the 
inhabitants. The territorial assembly at Knoxville has 
been asked to do something to check them, and the as- 
sembly has asked Congress and the President. Both 
have refused on the ground that an expensive and un- 
certain war might result. 

At last even Robertson's patience gave way, and he 
advised his people to fight their own battles and carry 
the war into the Chickamauga towns. He called for 
troops, and a thousand men responded. Joseph Brown 
had been sent to spy out a way. Having marked the 
route by blazing trees through the forest, he returned to 
guide the expedition. 

Colonel Whitley, of Kentucky, came with a, hundred 
men and joined Robertson's command. Major Ore, of 
the regular army, had been sent with sixty men from 
Knoxville by Governor Blount to help guard the settle- 
ment. He readily obeyed Robertson's order to fall into 
line. 

Robertson was brigadier-general of the militiA, but as 



154 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

he had been wounded and could not serve, Colonel Whit- 
ley was put in command. Only a select number of the 
best men were selected to fight the redskins. It was 
Sunday morning, September 6th, when the chosen band 
marched away through the forest. 

The first night the little army slept at the Black Fox's 
camp, near where Murfreesboro now stands. Their 
march led them across the Barren Fork of Duck river, 
near Stone Fort, and across the Elk at what was later 
Caldwell 's Bridge. On Friday, having crossed the Cum- 
berland Mountains, they struck the Tennessee river 
three miles below the mouth of the Sequatchie. The 
Indian town of Nick-a-jack, surrounded by mountains, 
lay on the opposite side of the river. 

In their eagerness some of the men got up before day- 
light, and, plunging into the river, which was three- 
quarters of a mile wide, swam to the south bank. Others 
went over on rafts of dry cane and on the backs of their 
swimming horses. Among these was Joseph Brown, 
who was captain of a company of twenty sharpshooters. 
William Pillow swam over with a rope in his teeth, and 
thus drew a raft loaded with guns, shot bags, and 
clothes. By daylight the entire command of 265 men 
had crossed the river. 

The troops formed in the cane on the river bank, and 
then marched silently to the attack through a field of 
corn which grew close up around the cabins. Under the 
guidance of Joseph Brown the advance had been so 



THE PR0PHEG1 I L LULLED 155 

directed that all means of escape were cut off from the 
savages. 

The Indians, thinking themselves perfectly secure in 
their mountain retreats, were taken by complete sur- 
prise. At the first firing many of them ran for their 
boats. Others started for the mountain caves. Every 
way they turned they were shot down by the alert rifle- 
men. Those that reached the canoes were slaughtered 
before they could get away from the bank. Some tried 
to escape by diving under the water, but these were 
picked off by the rifles as soon as they rose to the sur- 
face. Joseph Brown's friend Breath, the chief who ad- 
vised him during his captivity, was among the slain. 

The Indians at Running Water, a town about a mile 
further up the river, heard the firing and started to the 
assistance of their friends. They met many of the Nick- 
a-jack Indians who were trying to escape in that direc- 
tion. They joined forces and awaited in a narrow pass 
the coming of the white troops. Their feeble resistance 
was soon overcome, however, and both towns were de^ 
stroyed. 

Several women and children were taken prisoners and 
confined in a small' cabin. Among them was the old 
French woman whose slave Brown had been during his 
captivity. When he entered this cabin, all the prisoners 
fell on their knees and begged for their lives. Brown 
told them that white people did not kill helpless women 
and children. This gave them great joy. 

In the cabins a number of scalps were found which 



156 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

had been taken in the Cumberland murders. Among 
the spoils there was a quantity of Spanish ammunition. 
This was accepted as evidence that Spain incited the 
Indians to commit their depredations upon the Ameri- 
cans. 

The means employed by the whites in these wars 
against the Indians would now be considered exceed- 
ingly cruel. Yet the settlers felt that there was no other 
way to protect themselves. Joseph Brown believed that 
he had performed a solemn duty, and at the advanced 
age of seventy-six years he said, "The judgment of 
Heaven fell upon the Indians. ' ' This expedition put an 
end to most of the Indian murders. 



ADMITTED TO THE I MUX 157 



Admitted to the Union 

It has now been more than a quarter of a century since 
Watauga was settled. Many changes have taken place. 
The little settlement has extended over the larger part 
of what is now East Tennessee. The Cumberland set- 
tlers have become much more numerous, and, since the 
Xick-a-jack expedition, have been little troubled by the 
Indians. 

There have been many changes of government. First 
there was the Watauga Association, and then the govern- 
ment of North Carolina. After that came the State of 
Franklin, which failed, and then again the government 
of North Carolina. This was succeeded by the Terri- 
tory South of the River Ohio. Now the people are ready 
for still another change. It is proposed to f orm a new 
State and enter the Union. As Governor Blount fa- 
vored this plan, he called the territorial assembly to- 
gether to consider it. The meeting was held at Knox- 
ville on the 29th of June, 1795. The federal act which 
organized the Territory provided that a State could be 
established when the population reached sixty thousand. 

The assembly therefore ordered a census to see if the 
population had reached this number. At the same time 
a convention was called to frame a State constitution, in 
case the people should decide by their vote that they 
wanted one. 



158 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The census showed more than the required popula- 
tion, the total being a little over seventy-seven thousand. 
Two-thirds of the voters were in favor of a new 
State. There were eleven counties, and each elected five 
delegates to the convention. The people in the Cum- 
berland settlements, however, voted strongly against the 
formation of a new State. 

The convention met at Knoxville January 11, 1796, 
and Governor Blount was made president. The session 
was opened with prayer. By request Rev. Samuel Car- 
rick preached a sermon to the members of the con- 
vention before the work of forming a constitution was 
begun. 

The action of the convention was very harmonious. 
One of the first things the members did was to reduce 
their pay to one dollar and fifty cents a day and mileage. 
A constitution, modeled after that of North Carolina, 
was then adopted. It was thought at that time to be a 
very good one, but many changes for the better have 
since been made. 

It was decided that the name of the new State should 
be Tennessee. This name was taken from a county in 
Middle Tennessee, which was afterward divided into the 
two counties of Robertson and Montgomery. The name 
originally came from the little Indian town of Tenassee, 
or perhaps from the name of what is now the Little Ten- 
nessee river. The Big Tennessee river was first called 
' ' Cherake. ' ' General Jackson is said to have suggested 
the name, but the Territory had been known as the Ten- 



ADMITTED TO THE UNIOH 159 

nessee country for some time. Bishop Asbury spoke of 
it as Tennessee in his journal as early as 1788. 

An election of members of the legislature was ordered 
at once so that representation in the Federal Congress 
might be secured before that body adjourned. So the 
legislature was in session by March 28, 1796, which was 
before the State had been admitted to the Union. At the 
same time John Sevier was elected governor of the new 
State). 

The legislature elected ex-Governor William Blount 
and William Cocke to represent the new State in the 
United States Senate, and Andrew Jackson in the lower 
house' of Congress. Presidential electors were also 
chosen by the legislature. These officers are now elected 
by a vote of the people. 

Soon after the close of the convention, Governor 
Blount, its president, prepared a copy of the new con- 
stitution. It was for Mr. Pickering, the United States 
Secretary of State, at Philadelphia, which was then the 
Federal capital. This copy, together with an appropri- 
ate letter from Governor Blount, was delivered to Mr. 
Pickering by Major Joseph McMinn, of Hawkins 
county, who had been a member of the convention. 

President Washington, on the 8th of April of the same 
year, sent the above documents to Congress, with a mes- 
sage explaining the action of the Tennessee people with 
regard to a new State. Mr. Dearborn, from the House 
committee, reported in favor of admitting Tennessee. 



160 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The Senate committee objected, but after mueh. talk Con- 
gress passed the necessary act. Tennessee was then ad- 
mitted, on June 1, 1796, as the sixteenth State of the 
American Union. 






y.\ / III. 1 1.\ \ ES8EE U ILDERNE8S 101 



In the Tennessee Wilderness 

Francis Baily was a noted English scholar and capi- 
talist. In the summer of 1797 he made a trip through 
Tennessee- and afterward gave an interesting account of 
it in a book which he published. From this account one 
gets a fine idea of what the country was like in the first 
year after the State was admitted into the Union. 

Mr. Baily was going by land from New Orleans to 
New York. On the way he passed through Tennessee 
from west to east. The latter part of his route was over 
the same road that Andrew Jackson had traveled the 
year before, when he went to sit in the American Con- 
gress at Philadelphia. 

After leaving Natchez, Mr. Baily did not see the habi- 
tation of a white man till he came within twelve miles of 
Nashville. He crossed the Tennessee river sixty miles 
west of Nashville. There was no ferry or boat of any 
kind, and he came near being drowned. He then fol- 
lowed a path through the wilderness, and was almost 
starved when he reached the Cumberland settlements. 
No one could furnish him with food till he came within a 
few miles of Nashville. « 

Nashville then contained about seventy families. 
There were two or three small taverns. The best 
tavern contained one large sleeping-room full of beds. 
People came in at any time during the night and retired. 



162 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

When the beds were all occupied, the last man crept in 
with some one who had retired earlier in the night. In 
this way Mr. Baily was likely to wake up any morning 
with a bedfellow whom he had never seen before. The 
table fare was very good. 

Between Nashville and Knoxville most of the country 
through which Mr. Baily passed was a wilderness. He 
crossed the Cumberland at Nashville and came along 
north of the river till he reached the mouth of Caney 
Fork. From Nashville to the settlements at Caney 
Fork, a distance of sixty miles, Mr. Baily saw about 
three houses in a day's travel. From this point there 
was an unbroken wilderness to the Clinch river, where 
Kingston now stands. 

As there was no tavern on the road, Mr. Baily 
spent the night with a private family. During the night 
a large snake crawled up through a crack in the floor, 
which was made of split logs, and got under Mr. Baily 's 
bed. The next morning the man of the house told Mr. 
Baily that this was not a remarkable case, and added 
that snakes sometimes got up into the beds, but that 
they were harmless. Mr. Baily did not stay long enough 
to test the truth of this statement. 

After leaving the settlements, Mr. Baily had to carry 
his food with him. He built a fire at night and boiled 
some coffee in a tin cup. His horses were turned out to 
eat the rich wild grass and pea vines. He then wrapped 
himself in his blanket and lay down to sleep under the 
shelter of a tree. 



IN TEE TENNESSEE WILDEBi EBB 163 

One night Mr. Baily found no water near the place 
where he wanted to make his camp. Having traveled a 
long distance without finding water, he was very thirsty 
but he pressed onward. Vivid flashes of lightning soon 
indicated that a thunderstorm was coming up behind 
him. At last he stopped and built a fire so large that he 
thought the rain could not put it out. In a few minutes, 
however, the rain fell in such torrents that the fire was 
soon gone. Mr. Baily's great thirst was also gone, and, 
throwing himself upon the sobby ground, he slept 
soundly in his wet blanket with his head on a loo- of 
wood. ° 

As Mr. Baily came across the Cumberland plateau he 
passed what was known as the Crab Orchard. It was a 
fine, large, natural meadow covered with rich, tall grass 
The place was surrounded by mountains and was several 
hundred acres in extent. It was watered by a number 
of excellent springs. 

While on the trip Mr. Baily met numbers of people 
on horseback and in wagons. They were moving to the 
Cumberland country. If it had been later in the year he 
would have met many more. The year before this a 
traveler met in four days one hundred and seventy-five 
wagons and ten times that number of horses. 

Between the Clinch river and Knoxville Mr. Baily 
came upon a large encampment of emigrants. They 
were waiting for the settlement of a dispute regarding 
the Indian lands. The Indians claimed the ceuntiy up 
to the Clinch river and other points near by, Many 



1 64 I E A \ ESS E E 1/ 1 8 TOR ) 8 TORI E8 

people had moved upon the Indian lands, and the United 
States troops had heen sent to remove them and keep 
the lands clear. This caused great excitement and oppo- 
sition among the people. 

When Mr. Baily reached Kiioxville, the capital of the 
State, he met the soldiers marching out to look after the 
Indian lands. The bands were playing and the people 
had all come out to see the soldiers depart. 

Mr. Baily felt very glad to reach the settlements 
again. He had been fifteen days in making the trip from 
Nashville. 



PJONEl /.' PREACHERS \ \l> CHI RCHES l(i.' 



Pioneer Preachers and Churches 

Along with the early settlers came the ministers of re- 
ligion. Rev. Charles Cummings, a Presbyterian, was 
picacliing in the Virginia settlements on the Tennessee 
border as early as 1772. Some historians think he was 
the first man to preach a sermon in Tennessee. 

Among the settlers in Carter's Valley in 177.') was a 
Baptist preacher named Mulkey. We have no- account 
of his work. In 1779 Rev. Tidence Lane organized a 
Baptist church at Buffalo Ridge, and a house of worshi ) > 
was built. About the same time Rev. Samuel Doak was 
preaching in Washington county. 

In 1783 Rev. Jeremiah Lambert, of the Methodist 
church, organized the Holston circuit. At the end of the 
year he had enrolled seventy-six members. Bishop As 
bury, of the same church, came to Tennessee in 1788. 
He began a great work, and did no little to calm the 
people who* were at that time wrought up over the State 
of Franklin question. 

Two years before this. Rev. Benjamin Ogden, of the 
Methodist church, began to preach in. the Cumberland 
settlements. During the first year he seemed sixty mem- 
bers. The lied River Baptist church near Port Royal 
was organized by Elias Fori in 1791. Rev. Thomas B. 
Craighead was one of the noted Presbyterians who 
preached in Middle Tennessee at an early day. 



166 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The three churches already mentioned occupied most 
of the field at first, though other denominations appeared 
from time to time: and did a good work. The Methodists 
and Baptists reached the great masses of the people. 
Their preachers went into every nook and corner of the 
land. The Presbyterians occupied the towns and richer 
settlements. 

The Cumberland Presbyterian church was organized 
in Dickson county in 1810, and its influence was soon 
widespread. The first Episcopal church in the State 
was established at Franklin in 1827. The Church of 
the Disciples, or Christian church, appeared early in the 
century and spread rapidly. Other denominations es- 
tablished themselves at various times. 

The first ministers endured many hardships and re- 
ceived little pay. They preached in cabin homes, in 
barns, or, when the weather was pleasant, under the 
spreading trees. Bough houses of worship were gradu- 
ally built. When schoolhouses were erected they were 
often used also as places of worship. There were, of 
course, noi fine church edifices till the country grew popu- 
lous and wealthy. 

In 1799 or 1800 there: was a great religious awaken- 
ing, or revival, on the frontier. It prevailed most ex- 
tensively in the Cumberland settlements and in neigh- 
boring parts of Kentucky. It is said to have begun on 
Red River, in the sparsely settled country near Port 
Royal. From there it spread rapidly to* other sections 
and produced a most wonderful effect 



PIONEER PREACHERS AND CHURCHES 167 

In these meetings the greatest excitement prevailed. 
Saint and sinner alike were seized with strange convul- 
sions, known as ' ' the jerks. ' ' The affection manifested 
itself m various ways. Sometimes the head was jerked 
backward and forward so violently that there seemed 
danger of dislocating the neck, and, it is said, the long 
hair of the women would crack like, a whip. Some peo- 
ple danced wildly, or barked like dogs. Others were 
seized with uncontrollable laughter. "Many fell," as 
one writer expresses it, "like men slain in battle. ' ' They 
lay for hours as if in a trance., and then gradually re- 
covered in ecstasies of joy. 

The strange part of all this was that the affection 
seemed epidemic, and those who resisted it, or tried to 
get away, were seized the more surely and the more 
severely. At one meeting three thousand are said to 
have "fallen." In such cases a space was cleared and 
those affected were laid out in rows as if dead. Their 
friends cared for them till they recovered. 

Thousands of people were attracted to these meetings 
They arrived on foot, on horseback, and in vehicles 
Some came as far as a hundred miles and brought their 
provisions with them. The meetings were held in the 
woods, where tents or temporary cabins were constructed 
for entertaining the people. Out of thisanovement arose 
the camp meeting so long popular in the early history 
of the country. Many thousands were converted before 
the excitement died down in 1803. 



168 I E \ NE88EE HISTORY STORIES 



Boyhood of Jackson 

General Jackson is the most noted character in Ten- 
nessee history. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. His 
father came from the little town of Carrickfergus in the 
north of Ireland. The family were staunch Presbyte- 
rians. 

Jackson's father landed at Charleston, South Caro- 
lina, in 1765. This was two years after the close of the 
French and Indian War. George the Third had been on 
the throne of England for five years, and trouble about 
the Stamp Act had begun. Mr. Jackson settled at Wax- 
haw, near the North Carolina line. He soon died and 
left his family in poor circumstances. Little Andrew 
was born a short time after his father's death. 

From his earliest years Andrew Jackson was a 
fighter. He had the Scotch-Irish grit, and seemed to 
feel that he was in a world where everybody must take 
care of himself. His mother wanted to educate him for 
the Presbyterian ministry, but the boy was not inclined 
that way. Foot races, leaping, and jumping were his 
favorite amusements. He excelled in all outdoor sports. 

Andrew was nine years old when American inde- 
pendence was declared. A great many Tories lived 
around him. He was a strong patriot, however, and 
joined the American army when he was thirteen years 
of age. 



HOY lloon 01 I \<Kso\ L69 

Andrew does not seem to bave belonged to any regu- 
lar command in the army. He simply joined small par- 
ties that were called to perform some special service. 
He was asked one night to help guard the house of a 
patriot soldier who expected an attack from the Tories. 
For a while there seemed to be no danger, and all the 
guards lay down to sleep. 

During the night one of the men heard a noise. He 
went out and discovered the Tories approaching in 
force. He ran back, and, seizing Andrew by the hair 
of the head, cried, "The Tories are upon us." Andrew 
was on his feet in an instant and ran out into the yard. 
Seeing a body of men coming up, he rested his gun in 
the low fork of a tree and ordered them to halt. There 
was no reply, and Andrew called in a louder voice, 
' i Halt ! ' ' There was still no reply, and the enemy kept 
coming on. By this time the rest of the guard were at 
Andrew's back. He then took aim and fired. 

This brought a volley from the foe, and one of the 
guards fell dead. It so happened that the Tories were 
approaching from opposite directions, and the second 
party, hearing the baris whistling over their heads, sup- 
posed they came from the patriot force. Then they 
fired in return, and so frightened the first party that 
both came to a halt. 

In the meantime the guards retired into the house and 
kept up a brisk fire from the windows. While this was 
going on a bugle, some distance away, sounded a cavalry 
charge. This was the work of a patriot who lived near 



170 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

by and who had heard the report of the muskets. The 
Tories thought that they had been led into* a, trap and 
were about to be charged by cavalry. So putting spurs 
to their horses, they disappeared in the woods and were 
seen no more. This strange result was all brought about 
by the first shot fired by the boy soldier, Andrew Jack- 
son. 

The nest time Andrew met the enemy it was his time 
to run. The patriots were collecting a f oroe at Waxhaw 
church. Lord Rawdon heard of it, and sent a company 
of British dragoons to> capture them. The Tories of the 
vicinity joined the dragoons, and, in approaching the 
church, rode ahead. As they were in citizens ' clothes, 
the patriots thought it was another company of their 
own troops coming up. They were fchus completely sur- 
prised and routed. 

Young Jackson was a member of the patriot force, 
and he fled with the rest. He went down the road as fast 
as his horse could carry him, with a British dragoon 
following closely behind. To escape capture, he turned 
aside and plunged into a thick swamp, where his pur- 
suer was afraid to follow him. After floundering in the 
mire for some time, Andrew's horse reached the oppo- 
site side of the swamp. Andrew was covered with mud 
and presented a very forlorn appearance. He spent a 
hungry and anxious night in a thicket of undergrowth 
and wild grapevines. 

The next morning he ventured out and slipped into a 
neighboring house for breakfast. It was the home of a 




'I am a prisoner i f war, sir 



172 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES. 

patriot soldier named Crawford. A Tory hastened to 
inform the British troops, and, before Andrew was 
aware of it, the house was surrounded "by the enemy, 
and he was obliged to surrender. 

The troops proceeded to break up the furniture in the 
house. In the meantime a British officer ordered An- 
drew to* clean his big cavalry boots. Though a mere 
boy, Andrew's manhood rebelled, and, standing up, 
he said calmly, but firmly : 

"I am a prisoner of war, sir, and I demand to be 
treated as such. ' ' 

The officer was so much angered by this reply that he 
struck Andrew with his sword. Andrew did not yield 
an inch, though the gash left a scar that he carried to his 
grave. 



WITCHES A\l> THEIR WA ) S 173 



Witches and their Ways 

The early settlers of Tennessee, as many other people 
of that time, often told curious stories about witches, 
charms, and conjuring. Such old tales were once very 
common among simple-minded folk, but we now know 
that there was no truth in them. All nations had such 
tales in their early lristory. 

A witch was always some curious old woman living in 
the neighborhood, who was supposed to possess the very 
strange power of placing a spell, or a curse, upon the 
property or person of those whom she wished to harm. 
If a hunter failed to discover game, or if his gun missed 
fire, he began to suspect that he was under the power of 
some witch. 

If a disease could not be well understood, it was very 
apt to be imputed to witchcraft. The way such a disease 
was cured was very odd. The picture of the supposed 
witch, drawn upon a board, was put up to be shot at 
with a bullet in which there was a little bit of silver. 
Whatever part of the picture was pierced by the bullet, 
that part of the old witch would immediately suffer pain. 
If the right arm of the picture was struck, the right arm 
of the witch suffered pain, and thus she was forced to 
remove the spell. 

It was also believed that witches could milk the cows 
of their neighbors in a curious way. For every cow to 



174 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

be milked, the witch hung up a new towel over her own 
door, and into it she stuck a new pin. She then got the 
milk from the cows by milking the fringes of the towels 
as they hung in a row. What a curious idea this was ! 
People who thought over the matter carefully always 
noticed that the cows that the witch was supposed to 
milk were too ill, or too lean, to give 1 milk anyway. 

Another strange idea was that a witch could change 
people into horses by putting a silver bridle bit into their 
mouths while they slept. The witches would then mount 
these newly-made chargers and urge them over moun- 
tains and through the dark forests to some secret cavern 
where there was a big witch-meeting. In this place the 
witches passed the night in frolic and dancing while the 
poor horses stood out in the cold tied to the trees. Just 
before day the witches all mounted their steeds and hied 
themselves away to their homes. If they were a little 
late the poor horses were ridden so furiously that they 
nearly lost their lives. When some foolish people arose 
from their beds in the morning feeling languid and tired, 
they made sure that they had been ridden to a witches ' 
meeting the night before, 

It was sometimes believed that witches could change 
themselves into cats and deer, or other animals. In one 
old story we are told that a hunter was seeking game in 
a forest when a beautiful deer came bounding across his 
path. He raised his gun and fired, but the deer only 
tossed its head gently and turned to stare at him. He 
saw at once that it was a witch, and, quickly cutting a 



WITCHES AND THEIR WAYS 175 

piece from a silver dollar, he rammed it down his gun. 
When he fired again he wounded tlie deer, but it disap- 
peared before he could take it. The next day an old 
lady, one of his neighbors, was seen with her arm in *a 
sling. Such is the story. 

Another story was that a miller was very much 
troubled by a large black cat that frequently made its 
way into his mill. He tried in every manner to get rid of 
it, but failed. Finally, one day, he watched his oppor- 
tunity, and, seizing a hatchet, chopped off one of the 
cat's forefeet. It disappeared instantly, but judge of 
the miller's surprise when he beheld, lying on the floor 
before him, a lady 's hand incased in a black silk glove ! 
Then he knew that the cat was a witch, and he learned 
the next day that the wife of a neighbor was in bed, very 
ill. He went to visit her, and was surprised to find that 
she did not extend her right hand to greet him, but kept 
it hid under the covers. 



170 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Some Heroic Women 

Heroism, in the early settlement of our State, did not 
belong to the men alone, for many brave deeds were per- 
formed by the women. The boys, and the girls also, did 
their part in defending themselves when it was neces- 
sary. The nature of life on the frontier taught all to be 
brave and daring. 

In the Cumberland settlements in 1781 it was a daily 
occurrence for some one to be attacked by the Indians. 
One morning Mrs. Dunham sent her little daughter out 
of the fort to> bring some water. The child was attacked 
by Indians and scalped. 

The child's cries soon brought her mother to the spot. 
The mother was shot and dangerously wounded. Yet, 
strange to say, she succeeded in rescuing her little girl 
and bringing her into the fort. Both mother and child 
lived many years to recount the story. 

In 1788 a large body of Cherokees were laying siege 
to Houston's Station, about six miles from where Mary- 
ville now stands. There were only nine men to defend 
the fort, and one of these soon fell pierced by an Indian 
bullet. 

In this state of affairs the women were rendering what 
help they could. A Mrs. McEwen was down on the 
hearth moulding bullets at the fire. Amid the roar of 
the guns an Indian bullet came through a crack, and, 



SOMI-: HEROIC WOMEA 177 

flattening against the wall, fell at Mrs. McE wen's feet. 
Mrs. McE wen snatched up the bullet, and, melting it in 
her ladle, soon turned it out from the molds as good as 
new. Then she handed it to her husband, saying : ' ' Here 
is a bullet made out of Indian lead. Send it back to them 
as quickly as possible. It is their own. Let them have 
it and welcome ! ' ' 

The year before this event occurred, a small party of 
armed Indians came to the house of Captain Thomas 
Gillespie, whose cabin stood on what was at that time the 
frontier. It was on the north bank of the French Broad 
river a little distance above its mouth. Captain Gilles- 
pie was away from home and there was nobody upon 
whom the family could call for help. One of the Indians 
drew out his scalping knife, and, going to the cradle 
where the baby lay, made motions as if he would scalp 
the child. 

The day before this Captain Gillespie had been burn- 
ing some brush on an island, from which the smoke was 
still rising in sight of the house. When the Indian 
threatened her baby, Mrs. Gillespie stepped to the door, 
and, looking toward the "clearing," called aloud, 
* * White men, come home ! Indians ! Indians ! ' ' 

The Indians were deceived by her trick, and, thinking 
that the whites would soon be upon them, fled from the 
house. They dashed down the hill by the spring and 
disappeared in the canebrake. 

In 1795 twenty-five Cherokee Indians attacked the 
house of Mr. George Mann, in Knox county. He had 



178 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

stepped out to his barn, when the Indians cut him off 
fram retreat and murdered him. His wife, uncertain of 
his fate, sat in the darkness anxiously awaiting his re- 
turn. 

She soon heard voices in an unknown tongue. The 
door was locked, and, snatching up a rifle, she pointed it 
through a crack. Only that morning she had learned 
how to use the gun. Her children were sleeping near, 
and in the stillness she could hear their breathing and 
the beating of her own heart. 

There was a heavy surge at the door. It partly 
opened and Mrs. Mann fired. The Indians were behind 
one another pushing with all their might when the gun 
went off. The one in front fell. The next screamed 
with pain. Mrs. Mann kept perfect silence. The other 
Indians picked up their companions and got away as 
fast as they could. They thought the house was full of 
armed men. 



EARLY GROWTH OF THE STATE 179 



Early Growth of the State 

From Tennessee's admission to the Union in 1796 
till 1820 there was a large increase of her population. 
Along with other immigrants came many Revolutionary 
soldiers, who took up lands that the government had 
voted to them for their services. The great land specu- 
lators also caused many people to come out and settle. 

Some of the new settlers came from North Carolina. 
Many were from Virginia. Others came from Pennsyl- 
vania, and not a few were from f ar-a-way New England. 
The immigrants usually traveled in covered wagons 
drawn by two horses, or by four horses, according to 
their means. A kind of straggling procession was com- 
ing into the old town of Jonesboro at all times, and espe- 
cially in the fall of the year. 

Jonesboro was a sort of stopping place, where letters 
were left and news was exchanged. From here the pro- 
cession started out afresh for Greeneville, Knoxville, or 
the Cumberland settlements. 

More lands were gradually cleared. Better houses 
were built. Mo-re schools were established and more 
churches were organized. Saw-mills were erected and 
simple manufactories began to appear. 

Now and then the log cabin gave way to a frame 
house with glass windows or to a residence of brick or 
stone. Occasional specimens of varnished furniture 



180 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

found their way up the rivers from Natchez and New 
Orleans. Frontier manners and customs began to 
change and many improvements were made. 

The right to navigate the Mississippi had been early 
secured by a treaty with Spain, and the western people 
found an open market for their products. The trade 
with New Orleans soon became important. Flatboats 
and barges were taken down the rivers, especially from 
Nashville, which soon became the leading city in the 
western country. 

The trip was long and even perilous. For many years 
pirates occasionally appeared on the great rivers and 
robbers waylaid the lonely traveler on the unfrequented 
land routes. The voyage to New Orleans occupied 
many weeks and even months. The return was generally 
made by land following the ' ' Natchez Trace. ' ' 

In the eastern part of the State goods were brought in 
wagons across the mountains from Baltimore. The ped- 
dler appeared with his pack, and one or two stores sold 
merchandise in such towns as Knoxville, Greeneville, 
and Jonesboro. 

With the increase of trade came a demand for more 
money. The Nashville bank was the first in the State. 
It was chartered in 1807. The Bank of the State of Ten- 
nessee, at Knoxville, soon followed. Before many years 
banks had been established in all the principal towns. 

The means of transportation, communication, and 
travel improved rapidly. The first step was from the 
pack horse on the wilderness trail to the wagon and the 



EARL1 GROWTH OF THE 82 VTE 181 

wagon road. Then came wagon trains and stage coaches. 
The flat-boat and the keel boat soon began to give way 
to the steamboat, which first appeared on the Mississippi 
in 1811- '12. 

The first steamboat reached Nashville in 1818. It was 
called the General Jackson, and was owned by William 
Carroll, who afterward became governor of the State. 
Letters ceased to be sent by hand as mail routes were 
opened and post offices were established. Yet it took six 
cents to pay the postage on a letter for a distance of 
thirty miles or less, and twenty-five cents for a distance 
of over four hundred and fifty miles. These rates were 
not reduced till 1845. 



182 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The Creek War 



As you have already learned, the Creek Indians lived 
to the south of Tennessee in what is now Alabama and 
a part of Georgia. In the War of 1812 these Indians 
took side with the British. They did this mainly 
through the influence of the great chief Tecumseh. He 
belonged to the Shawnee tribe. Before he was bom his 
parents had removed with their tribe from the South to 
the far North. 

Tecumseh declared that the Indians must all unite to 
win back their lands from the white people. The war 
between England and this country gave them a chance 
to get help in carrying out this idea. 

About the beginning of the War of 1812 Tecumseh, 
accompanied by some of his own people, came to Ala- 
bama and had a long talk with the Creeks at their capi- 
tal. He told them what he proposed to do-. To carry out 
his plan he thought it best that the Indians give up all 
the civilization they had learned from the white people. 

For some days before making his "talk" Tecumseh 
marched around the streets of the Creek capital with 
his wild savages. They were naked, except that they 
wore a flap on the middle part of the body. Their faces 
were painted black. They had buffalo> tails sticking out 
behind them and their heads were ornamented with 
eagle feathers. The appearance of his warriors was 



TEE CREEK WAR 183 

very frightful, but this had the desired effect in stirring 
up the war spirit among the young men of the Creeks. 
Tecumseh wanted tlie Creeks to join him in driving out 
the white people. Many of the young men were excited 
by his words and voted for war. The wiser part of the 
tribe voted for peace. So the Creeks were divided into a 
war party and a peace party. The war party were called 
"Red Sticks. " They were led by an able chief named 
William Weatherford. The Indians called him "Red 
Eagle.' ' 

For some time the Indians remained quiet. Red 
Eagle finally began the war by leading an attack upon 
Fort Minis. He made his attack on August 30, 1813. 
There were five hundred and fifty-three persons in the 
fort, which was situated near Mobile in what is now the 
southern part of Alabama. 

The people in the fort were taken by complete sur- 
prise. On the morning of the attack the gates of the 
fort were standing wide open. Innocent children played 
about the grounds. Their mothers, with light hearts, 
were cooking their dinner. The soldiers were scattered 
about— some sleeping, some playing cards. The officer 
in charge was even writing a letter to Governor Clai- 
borne, saying that all was well at Fort Mims. 

At that very moment, and all that fateful morning, a 
thousand painted warriors under Red Eagle lay con- 
cealed in a ravine not five hundred yards from the fort. 
It is said they were so still that the birds fluttered and 
sang innocently in the trees above thein. 



184 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIED 

The savages, like tigers, were watching for the proper 
moment to spring upon their prey. At last the time 
came. At the first tap of the drum for dinner they rose 
in a mass and rushed upon the fort. In a few short 
hours five hundred men, women, and children were 
killed. The scene was too horrible to describe. It is 
said that not one white woman or white child was left 
alive. 

The news of the massacre spread rapidly all over the 
country. Nobody near the Indian country felt safe. 
The frightened settlers left their homes and hurried into 
the forts. Their crops, their cattle, and all other kinds 
of property were left to be plundered by the savages. 
Even the Indians who belonged to the peace party had 
to flee for their lives. 

n 

There were no telegraphs in those times, and it took 
the news nineteen days to reach Nashville. That city 
was four hundred miles away. A deep gloom fell upon 
the people. A large meeting of citizens was held, and 
its chairman, Rev. Mr. Craighead, made an eloquent ad- 
dress. 

It was decided at this meeting that an army must be 
sent to protect the Alabama people and to keep the In- 
dians away from the Tennessee border. The seat of 
government was then at Nashville, and the legislature 
promptly voted troops and supplies for this purpose. 

All eyes turned to. General Andrew Jackson as the 



TEE CREEK WAR L85 

best leader of the expedition, and in a short time he 
took command. He sent Colonel John Coffee to Hunts- 
ville, in the northern part of Alabama, and ordered him 
to' have all the cavalry join him there. Jackson himself 
collected the infantry a,t Fayetteville. General John 
Cocke gathered a force at Knoxville and ordered sup- 
plies to be sent down the Tennessee river for the sup- 
port of the whole army. 

Learning that the Indians were moving northward 
for an attack, Jackson at once marched his army to 
Huntsville. Here he found that there was no immediate 
danger. The next day he crossed the Tennessee river 
and came to the camp of Colonel Coffee's cavalry. 

The little army remained for several days on a high 
bluff overlooking the river. All the soldiers were in fine 
spirits, Among them was Davy Crockett, the bear 
hunter and great joker. He wore Ids hunting shirt and 
carried his trusty rifle. Everybody was kept merry by 
his stories and good humor. 

While waiting for the supplies from Knoxville a mes- 
senger came to ask help for some friendly Creeks on the 
Coosa river. Jackson determined to grant the request, 
as the route led up the Tennessee river, from which di- 
rection the supplies were • expected. After marching 
twenty- two miles, he encamped at the mduth of Thomp- 
son's creek and built a fort. As he intended to deposit 
the supplies in this fort, it was named Fort Deposit. 

While this work was going on, Colonel Coffee scoured 
the country on the Black Warrior river with his cavalry 



186 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

and burned a number of Indian towns. After collecting 
several hundred bushels of corn he returned to Fort 
Deposit. His ability as a commander soon advanced 
him to the rank of brigadier-general. 

After waiting for supplies until his patience was ex- 
hausted, General Jackson decided to assist without fur- 
ther delay the friendly Creeks, whoi had again sent for 
help against their enemies. He therefore left Fort De- 
posit on October 25th and marched southward into the 
enemy's country. His troops were on the verge of star- 
vation, but he trusted to finding corn in the Indian towns 
which lay along the route. 

In a week the army was at Ten Islands, on the Coosa 
river. This place was within ten miles of Talluschatches 
(talluschat'ches), which was inhabited by about two 
hundred hostile Creeks. 

General Coffee was ordered to march against this 
town. A force of friendly Creeks went with his army. 
These Indians wore white feathers and white deer tails 
to show that they were friends. 

General Coffee attacked the town early on the first 
morning after he started on the march, and gained a 
complete victory. Every Indian warrior in the town 
was killed. No one surrendered or begged for mercy. 
Only five of General Coffee's men were killed. 

Ill 

In all the battles of this war the Creeks fought with a 
religious frenzy. In every army they had a prophet 



TEE CREEK WAR 187 

who made the warriors believe that the American bullets 
would not huil them. 

In the midst of the battle at Talluschatches the 
prophet mounted to the roof of a house and declared 
that the god of the Indians had filled the air with spirits 
who were catching the bullets of the Americans. ' ' Look 
at me, I am unharmed ! " he cried, and about that time 
a bullet struck him and he tumbled headlong to the 
ground. 

During the battle the Indian warriors retreated into 
their houses and mixed with their families. Thus some 
women and children were unintentionally killed. After 
the battle was over a dead mother was found with her 
living babe in her arms. 

The child was brought back to the main camp. Gen- 
eral Jackson took pity on it and had it cared for till the 
war was over. It was then carried to the Hermitage, as 
he called his home near Nashville. Mrs. Jackson re- 
ceived the little stranger kindly. Lincoyer, which was 
the name given to the boy by the general, gave promise 
of being a fine young man. When about seventeen years 
old, however, he developed consumption and died. 

Now we must go back to the story of General Jackson 
and his army. We left them on the banks of the Coosa 
river, in the eastern part of what is now the State of 
Alabama. For some days after the last battle, Jackson 
and his men were building a depot and defence, which 
he called Fort Str other. 

Late one evening an Indian, tired and out of breath, 



188 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIED 

rushed into cainp and called for General Jackson. He 
said he came to get help for his people; that they were 
friendly Creeks, and had been surrounded by the enemy 
in Fort Talladega. 

This place was about thirty miles away, in a wilder- 
ness country, surrounded by mountains. It was where 
the beautiful town of Talladega now stands. 

The Indian messenger, who was a noted chief, went 
on to say that his people were nearly out of food and 
water. Unless help came at once they must all be killed, 
for their enemies outnumbered them seven to one. In 
order to get out of the fort and come to* General Jackson 
for help he had dressed himself up in a large hog skin. 
The head and the feet were left on so as to make him 
look just like a hog. He came out of the fort grunting 
and rooting just as a hog would do. In this way he 
worked his way through the enemy's camp. He then 
rose to his feet, and, throwing away his disguise, ran 
with all speed to Fort Strother. 

When the chief had finished his ( story, General Jack- 
son determined to go at once to the rescue of the friendly 
Creeks. In a short time his army was on the march, and 
at sunset the next evening it camped within six miles of 
Fort Talladega. Jackson attacked the Indians at sun- 
rise the following morning and gained a complete vic- 
tory. 

The friendly Indians in the fort knew nothing of 
Jackson 's coming. As soon as the battle was over, they 
rushed out to express their gratitude. General Jackson 



THE CREEK WAR 189 

accepted from them a small quantity of com, and re- 
turned at once to Fort Strother. 

IV 

Not a peck of meal or a pound of meat was found in 
the fort. For several days nothing but a few lean cattle 
could be obtained. Expected supplies had not come, and 
Jackson was in an agony of disappointment. 

One day while the general was eating something as he 
sat under a tree, a starving soldier came up and begged 
for food. Jackson told him that it had always been his 
rule to divide with a hungry man. Putting his hand 
into his pocket he drew out some aco-rns. "This," said 
he, ' ' is the best and only fare that I have. ' ' 

For weeks the army was kept on the verge of starva- 
tion. The troops became mutinous and tried to go 
home, but they were stopped by the iron will of the gen- 
eral. Many claimed that their time of service was about 
to expire. Finally most of them were permitted to go 
home and new troops were sent forward. As the new 
troops had joined the army for only a short term, Gen- 
eral Jackson saw that he must act rapidly. He there- 
fore left Fort Strother and marched to Fort Talladega. 
Here a body of friendly Indians joined him. 

He heard that the enemy had an army near by on the 
Tallapoosa river. He pushed forward, but before he 
could reach their camp the Indians came out to meet 
him: Jackson defeated them, though their number was 
so great that he failed to conquer them. 



190 TENNESSEE HISTORY. STORIES 

After another battle, in which General Coffee was 
wounded and A. Donelson, his aide-de-camp, was killed, 
Jackson decided to return to Fort Strother. The In- 
dians overtook hirn before he reached the fort, but were 
driven off after a hard fight. It was only Jackson's 
great ability as a general that saved the army. 

The term of service of Jackson's troops was again 
nearly at an end; yet the fame of the general's victories 
soon brought a new and larger army. Troops arrived 
from both East Tennessee and Middle Tennessee. In a 
little while he found himself at the head of about five 
thousand men. This was in February, 1814. He now 
felt strong enough to crush the enemy and close the war. 

Hearing of the new danger that threatened them, the 
Indians gathered all their forces into a great bend of the 
Tallapoosa river shaped like a horseshoe. They called 
the place Tohopeka, which means horseshoe. The space 
contained one hundred acres of land. It has since been 
cleared to make a large field in which cotton is raised. 

Across this neck of land the Indians built a strong 
breastwork of logs. It had portholes through which 
they could shoot. At J;he opposite side was a village of 
huts. The edge of the river around the place was 
fringed with many canoes in which the Indians hoped to 
escape in case they were defeated. 

Tohopeka was about midway between the head of the 
river and its mouth, and about fifty-five miles from Fort 
Strother. It lay in the midst of a wilderness of woods 
and swamps. 



THE CREEK WAR 



191 



It took Jackson eleven days to reach it, for he had to 
cut his way through the woods and put bridges over the 
swamps. As he came down the Coosa river he stopped 
at the mouth of Cedar Creek and built Fort Williams. 



V 

It was the 27th of March before Jackson made the at- 



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The Hermitage— Andrew Jackson's Home 

tack on Tohopeka. He sent General Coffee across the 
river to prevent the Indians from escaping in their 
canoes. Jackson himself attacked the breastwork in 
front. He fired cannon at the wall for two hours, but 
the balls only buried themselves in the wood. 



192 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

In the meantime General Coffee sent a force of 
friendly Indians back across the river to capture the 
canoes and to set fire to the Creek village. Yfhen this 
had been done he attacked the Indians in the rear. Jack- 
son 's men, hearing the guns of Coffee's troops, begged 
for permission to charge the breastworks. 

Jackson knew that it was risky to- undertake an at- 
tack, but he gave the order. As the long roll sounded 
the men rushed upon the works with a mighty shout. 
Prominent in the charge was a brigade of East Ten- 
nesseans, of which young Sam Houston was a member. 
His daring conduct is mentioned in another chapter. 

Major Montgomery was the first to reach the top of 
the breastworks. He fell with a rifle ball through his 
head. The Indians fought to the death. They asked no 
quarter and the battle became a regular slaughter. 
From behind logs and trees and the burning huts the 
savages kept up their firing. Some tried to swim the 
river, but they met the bullets of Coffee's men till the 
waters were red with blood. Others hid under the banks 
of the river and in the driftwood. 

Jackson sent a friendly Indian to the hard-pressed 
Creeks to say that they would be spared if they would 
surrender. Their answer was a shower of bullets. As 
the sun went down the soldiers set fire to the logs and 
brush where the Indians were concealed. As the heat 
drove them out they were shot down like wolves. 

Night came on. It was a scene of horror. The dead 
lay in piles. Some of the living yet lay crouched in 



THE CREEK WAR. 193 

brushwood or under shelving rocks, and even among 
the corpses of the slain. Some escaped during the night. 
One noted chief, who was wounded, is said to have sunk 
himself in the river. He breathed through a hollow 
cane until it was dark enough to swim away. 

In this battle the power of the Creeks was destroyed. 
All their future hope was broken. Jackson returned at 
once to Fort Williams. He soon marched to the Holy 
( 1 round of the Indians at the confluence of the Coosa 
and Tallapoosa rivers. Their prophets told the Indians 
that no white man could tread this ground and live. Yet 
Jackson met no* opposition and suffered no> harm. The 
war was now over, and the Indian chiefs began to come 
in and surrender. 

Red Eagle was still at large. He had been the chief 
spirit of the war and had led the massacre at Fort Mims. 
He must surrender before peace would be granted. It 
was expected that his life would atone for his crime. 

Red Eagle could have escaped to Florida, but he 
chose to offer his life for that of his people. One day, as 
Jackson was sitting in his tent, Red Eagle came riding 
up, 

' ' How dare you ride up to my tent after having mur- 
dered the women and children at Fort Mims?" cried 
Jackson fiercely. , 

Red Eagle replied: "General Jackson, I am not 
afraid of you. I fear no man, for I am a Creek warrior. 
I have nothing to request in behalf of myself. You can 
kill me if you desire. But I come to beg you to send for 



194 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES. 

the women and children of the war party, who are now 
starving in the woods. Their fields and cribs have been 
destroyed by your people, who have driven them to the 
woods without an ear of corn. I hope that you will have 
them conducted here in order that they may be 1 fed. I 
exerted myself in vain to prevent the massacre of the 
women and children at Fort Mims. I am now done fight- 
ing. The Red Sticks are nearly all killed. If I could 
fight you any longer I would most heartily do> so. Send 
for the women and children. They never did you any 
harm. But kill me, if the white people want it done. ' ' 

Many soldiers gathered around, and, not knowing 
fully what was going on, shouted, "Kill him! Kill 
him!" 

"Silence!" roared Jackson. "Any man who would 
kill as brave a man as this would rob the dead !" 

Jackson invited Red Eagle into his tent and treated 
him kindly. He assured the chief that if the Indians 
earnestly desired peace they could have it by submitting 
to the power of the government. 

Peace was soon made. The government cared for the 
Indian women and children till they could find homes. 
General Jackson was now a great military chieftain, 
whose fame extended throughout the country. 



GENERAL J ACKBOK M \ LW ORLEANS VJo 



General Jackson at New Orleans 

After his great success in the Creek War, General 
Jackson was at once given higher office and greater 
honor. In May, 1814, he was made major general in 
the United States army. In taking this honor he passed 
above several noted generals who had previously been 
superior to him in rank. 

The War of 1812 was still in progress. It had been 
a time of disaster, as well as of triumph, for American 
arms. The capital at Washington had been burned by the 
British in the summer of 1814. Our navy had won some 
noted victories, but the army had suffered many severe 
losses. It is true that the Creek Indians no longer 
threatened the country. Yet, thick and fast came ru- 
mors about a British fleet and' a heavy land force that 
were coming from the West Indies to capture New Or- 
leans and invade the southwest country. 

Jackson was put in command of the armies of the 
Gulf coast. Having concluded a treaty with the ( 'recks, 
he turned his attention to Florida, which at that time be- 
longed "to Spain. The Spaniards pretended to take no 
part in the war ; at the same time they were secretly aid- 
ing the British and furnishing the Indians with arms 
at Pensacola. Jackson complained vigorously about 
this and at last determined to put a stop to it by force of 
arms. 



196 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

He called upon the various States and Territories for 
their share of soldiers. Tennessee sent two thousand 
men, who marched down through the Creek wilderness 
with high hopes of a glorious victory. Everybody was 
glad now to march under Jackson's banner. Some had 
even paid for the privilege of going as substitutes. 

Jackson made his headquarters at Mobile and placed 
a small garrison in a deserted fort at the mouth of Mobile 
Bay. This defense was called Fort Bowyer and was 
commanded by Major Lawrence. It was soon attacked 
by a British fleet ; but after a severe loss, including the 
burning of one vessel, the fleet sailed away to Spanish 
headquarters at Pensacola. After tedious waiting at 
Mobile, Jackson was joined by the Tennessee troops 
under General Coffee. His force was now about four 
thousand men. Early in November he marched against 
the British at Pensacola. In a short time they were 
compelled to take to their fleet and sail away. Having 
forced a treaty upon the Spanish governor, Jackson re- 
turned to Mobile. The campaign against Pensacola had 
lasted only eight days. 

Jackson now ordered General Coffee to take the main 
body of the army and march by the best route to New 
Orleans. Leaving a reasonable force to defend Mobile 
and Port Bowyer, Jackson set out with his staff to ride 
one hundred and seventy miles to New Orleans, where 
he arrived on the first of December. 

After a brief welcome by the leading citizens, Jackson 
at once began to- put the city in a state of defense. He 
went hither and thither to find out all about the way an 



GENERAL JACKSON AT MAY ORLEANS 

enemy would likely come when making an attack. He 
provided vessels and forts on the river and on the Lakes. 
Everybody gladly lent him a helping hand in this work. 

II 

In the meantime a British fleet of fifty armed vessels, 
under command of Admiral Cochrane, had been collect- 
ing in Negril Bay in the island of Jamaica. In the fleet 
was the noted ship Tonnant, of eighty guns, which was 
one of Lord Nelson's prizes in the battle of the Nile. 

The force, sailors and all, numbered about twenty 
thousand men. Many of them were old veterans of Wel- 
lington, who had gained famous victories in European 
wars. Some had been in Washington the summer be- 
fore and helped burn the capitol. Civil officers were on 
board, who expected to govern New Orleans after it had 
been captured. Many brought their families along and 
all were light-hearted and happy over the prospect of an 
easy victory. 

In the latter part of November the fleet weighed anchor 
and put to sea. The pick of England's army and navy 
was aboard. A writer who was present says that the 
ships moved slowly and proudly from their anchorage ; 
when they got outside of the harbor, they caught the 
strong breeze from the ocean and "bounded over the 
water with the speed of eagles. ' ' Long before darkness 
came on, the coast of Jamaica had sunk below the hori- 
zon and the British were speeding, as they vainly sup- 
posed, to the doomed city of New Orleans. 



198 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

On the 14th of December Jackson was inspecting the 
defenses of the city. He felt that all was going well. 
Before he reached his headquarters, however, news came 
that his gunboats on the lake had been captured, that the 
largest fleet ever known on the Gulf was close at hand, 
and that the city was in a panic of fright. 

Danger always brought out Jackson's powers. After 
issuing a thrilling address to the citizens, he placed the 
city under military rule. Every able-bodied man was 
ordered to take up arms. Old men were put on police 
duty in the city. The courts were closed and many pris- 
oners were released to enter the army. 

On the 18th of December, Jackson reviewed his troops. 
It was Sunday and the day was bright and warm. The 
entire city turned out to see the parade, which took place 
in the public square in front of the old Spanish cathedral. 
Although the troops were of a, mixed character, they 
drilled well. Jackson had a spirited address read to 
them, and everybody went away full of hope and cour- 
age. 

The next day General Coffee arrived with a part of his 
Tennessee forces. The march had been hard and many 
of his horses and men had been left behind because they 
could not keep up. His troops made a poor show as they 
marched through the streets of New Orleans. They were 
dressed in hunting-shirts and homemade clothes. Their 
coonskin caps and raw deerskin belts gave them a back- 
woods appearance, but their long rifles would tell in 
battle, as we shall see later on. 



GENERAL JACKSON AT NEW ORLEANS 199 

On the 23d of December the British landed a force of 
sixteen hundred men at a lonely place twelve miles below 
the city. They were under the command of General 
Keane. By ten o'clock they were within nine miles of 
New Orleans. Here they captured a Creole planter 
named Villere and took possession of Ms residence. 

One of Villere 's sons escaped while the British bullets 
flew thick around him. He fled into a swain}) and there 
hid in the top of a liveoak till the soldiers had given up 
the pursuit. He then slipped down and ran to the next 
plantation. There a friend joined him and they crossed 
the Mississippi in a small boat to the plantation of a 
third friend. The three men then mounted horses and 
rode at full speed to Jackson's headquarters in the city. 



Ill 



At half past one o'clock that afternoon Jackson was 
working at his desk on Royal street. All at once there 
was a clatter of hoofs in the street outside his head- 
quarters. Three horsemen, covered with mud, appeared 
and asked to see the general. ' ' Show them in at once, ' ' 
said Jackson. 

"What news do you bring, gentlemen?" asked the 
general. 

"The British have landed," they replied, "and are 
now encamped nine miles below the city. ' ' 

Jackson 's eyes flashed fire. He brought his fist to the 
table with a ringing blow and exclaimed, "By the 



200 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Eternal, they shall not sleep on our soil ! ' ' Turning to 
his aides and secretary, he said, ' ' Gentlemen, the British 
are below. We must fight them toKuight." 

Orders were quickly sent to the troops stationed at 
various points about the city. Swift riders sped like the 
wind to notify officers of the coming attack. Jackson 
then ate a little rice and lay down on a sofa for a few 
minutes of sleep,— the last he would get for seventy 
hours. 

About three o'clock the general arose and rode to the 
lower part of the city. Here he took his stand before the 
gates of Fort St. Charles and reviewed the troops as they 
passed to the field of action. Then, having seen the 
schooner Carolina weigh anchor and drop downstream, 
he put spurs to his horse and galloped after Iris soldiers. 

At half past four o 'clock a small party of Americans 
struck the British lines near the Villere place and 
Thomas Scott was wounded. The timely arrival of rein- 
forcements enabled the Americans to hold their ad- 
vanced position. At five o'clock Jackson himself came 
up and quickly laid his plans. General Coffee was or- 
dered around by the swamp to attack the enemy on the 
flank, while Jackson with the main army was to assault 
them near the river. 

Before these preparations had been completed, night 
came on and a black darkness closed over the scene. At 
half past seven, the signal gun from the Carolina an- 
nounced the attack. Nobody seemed ready. Coffee's 
men had to leave their horses and grope their way on 



GENERAL JACKSON 17 VEW ORLEANS 201 

foot. The only way to see the enemy was by the flash of 
their guns. Firing began at several points, and all was 
confusion and uncertainty. Both armies advanced in 
small sections and in hopeless confusion. They called 
out in the dark to know whether the troops in front were 
friends or foes. Many soldiers were killed, or wounded, 
but whether by friends or foes it was hard to tell. It is 
certain that when daylight came dead bodies lay scat- 
tered over the ground in large numbers. 

The battle lasted till ten o'clock, and some say till three 
o'clock, in the morning. It was a queer battle. Nobody 
could even tell who had won the victory. The effect was 
to stop the march of the British and give Jackson time 
to strengthen his fortifications. In this respect it was a 
victory for him. But the great battle was to come off 
later. 

It has been thought that General Jackson could have 
captured the British army if he had followed up his vic- 
tory with another attack. His officers, however, thought 
that it was best to let well enough alone, and Jackson did 
not urge the matter. He put all his men to digging and 
heaping up the earth for a stronger defense. Such dig- 
ging and heaping up of earth was never known before. 
There was no rest for Jackson. One writer says he was 
without sleep for five days and four nights. 

The day after the night attack, something very dif- 
ferent was happening in Belgium, three thousand miles 
away. On December 24, in the city of Ghent, the agents 
of Great Britain and the United States signed a treaty of 



202 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

peace. The news spread rapidly from one person to 
another, but there were no telegraph lines and no At- 
lantic cables to carry it across the ocean. So the war in 
America went on. 

IV 

The next day was Sunday and Christmas. What a 
happy day of "peace on earth and good will toward 
men" it would have been to the soldiers in both armies if 
they had known about the treaty of peace. As it was, 
Jackson's men spent the holy day from dawn to dark in 
making stronger breastworks. Every ox, mule, and 
horse, except one, was working to strengthen the defenses 
of the city. That one horse stood ready to take Mrs. 
Edward Livingston out of the city in case the British 
captured it. 

General Paekenham now arrived and took command 
of the British troops. He was a brother-in-law of the 
Duke of Wellington and had won great fame in 
European wars. He gave his soldiers new courage. It 
was well that he did not know the weakness of the Ameri- 
can army ; otherwise he would have attacked Jackson at 
once and not have waited till more American troops ar- 
rived and the works were made stronger. His first idea 
was to destroy the Carolina. By the 27th he had mounted 
a large cannon which sent hot shot into the vessel until 
she blew up. 

The next morning the weather was spring-like, but 
bracing. The ricebirds and the mocking-birds filled the 



GENERAL JACKSON \T \i:\\ ORLEANS 203 

air with song. Soon General Packenham bad his army 
in motion. With flags flying and drums beating, they 
marched toward the American breastworks. It was a 
grand sight, but the rifles of the Americans were so 
deadly at long range that the British general inarched 
back without making a charge. He said he had only 
come out to get the ' ' lay of the land. ' ' 

For the next three days the British did nothing but 
bring up some cannon from their ships. General Jack- 
son kept his men busy day and night strengthening the 
works. He planted new batteries and even began a new 
line of entrenchments two miles back toward the city. 
He would fall back to this if it became necessary. In the 
meantime many troops arrived without arms. The gen- 
eral asked the ladies of New Orleans to search every gar- 
ret and cellar for old guns, pistols, and knives. 

Jackson's army was made up largely of Tennesseans. 
These men understood the Indian mode of fighting and 
missed no chance of picking off the British sentinels. 
One night a Tennessean slipped out between the lines and 
shot a sentinel on his post. He carried the man 's arms 
some distance away and waited. The corporal of the 
guard soon came around and found the dead sentinel. 
Another man was put in his place. As soon as the cor- 
poral had gone, the second sentinel fell at the crack of 
the Tennessee rifle. Another Britisher was placed on 
guard, but he, too, met the same fate. No more men were 
posted, and the Tennessee hunter returned to the Ameri- 
can camp loaded down with British guns and bayonets. 



204 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

On New Year's day, which was Sunday, there was 
some heavy firing. About thirty British and eleven 
Americans were killed. Three days passed away and 
still the British made no general attack. On the 4th 
of January 2,250 Kentuckians reached the city, but they 
were poorly clad and poorly armed. Day after day 
passed by. The British seemed to be giving the Ameri- 
cans plenty of time to get fully prepared. 

On the evening of the 7th, however, there was an un- 
usual stir in the British camp. That afternoon General 
Packenham was absent from the review of his troops. 
It was said that he had climbed to the top of a pine tree 
and was trying to get a view of the American works. 

That night Jackson lay sleeping on a couch in a house 
where he had headquarters. His aides lay on the floor 
around him. All were in their dingy uniforms with their 
arms beside them. About one o 'clock they were aroused 
by a messenger from Commodore Patterson and General 
Morgan saying that British troops were crossing the 
river and that they thought the main attack would be on 
the west side. "Tell them they are mistaken," said 
Jackson. "The main attack will be on this side." He 
looked at his watch ; it was past one o 'clock. ' ' Rise, gen- 
tlemen, ' ' said he to his aides ; ' ' the enemy will soon be 
upon us." All were up and out in a few minutes. By 
four o 'clock every man was in his place along the whole 
line of works. 



GENERAL JACKSON AT NEW ORLEANS 20.3 



General Packenham arose a little later. By four 
< i 'clock he bad the British troops in line. Day had nearly 
dawned when two rockets rushed into the sky. This was 
the signal for attack. The mists began to lift from the 
field as the redcoat lines inarched slowly forward. For 
a while there was some confusion and uncertainty. It 
was daylight before the British lines, marching in close 
order, drove in the pickets and came within range of the 
American guns. 

The Tennesseans, under General Carroll, sent up a 
deafening cheer, the batteries opened, and cannon shot 
tore great gaps in the British ranks. Mangled bodies 
were thrown high into the air. The Tennessee riflemen 
held their fire till the British lines were within two hun- 
dred yards. As General Carroll shouted the word 
"Fire," a long blaze of flame and smoke leaped forth. 

After the first discharge every man loaded and fired 
"on his own hook," and as fast as he could. As the 
smoke lifted, the British lines were seen to be shattered 
and the ground strewn with the dead and dying. The 
red line faltered and turned back. 

General Packenham rode up and tried to lead them to 
a second attack. A bullet shattered his arm, and soon 
his horse fell dead. Having mounted a pony belonging 
to one of his aides, he was joined by General Gibbs in 



206 TENNESSEE HISTORY STOMES 



leading a terrible onset. A cannon rilled with musket 
balls tore a road through the advancing ranks and killed 
two hundred men. Packenham soon fell and was borne 
back to the shade of a tree where he died. General Gibbs 
and General Keane fell at nearly the same moment. 

A British officer leaped upon the breastworks of the 
Americans and demanded that they should surrender. 
They told him he was alone and had better surrender 
himself. He looked back and found that two regiments 
which he thought were with him had disappeared as if 
swallowed up in the ground. 

As the fight began, General Jackson went along the 
American lines encouraging his men. " Stand to your 
guns, ' ' he said. ' ' Give it to them, boys. See that every 
shot tells. ' ' Sometimes he was on horseback and some- 
times on foot. As the battle progressed he retired to a 
high point of ground near the center of the lines. Here 
he had a full view of the field and watched the tide of the 
battle. 

Soon after the action began, an Irishman from among 
the American troops climbed to the top of the breast- 
works and peered through the mists at the advancing 
lines of British troops. Jumping back to his place in the 
trench, he shouted, ' ' Shoot low, boys ! Shoot low ! They 
are coming on their all fours. ' ' 

In twenty minutes after the battle began the result was 
decided ; yet the firing continued for two hours or more. 
When the smoke had cleared away, the field, says one 
writer, looked like a sea of blood. The red coats of the 




Tomb of Andrew Jackson 



208 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

killed and wounded British gave it this appearance. The 
dead la,y in heaps. In some places one might have 
walked a long distance on dead bodies alone. Some lay 
still in death, while others rolled and tossed about in 
pain. 

For some time after the British had raised the white 
flag the dead seemed to be coming to life. Many red- 
coats jumped to their feet and ran away. These were 
men who had not been hurt, but, in the terrible slaughter, 
had dropped to the ground to escape the rain of bullets. 
General Jackson said that he had never before had so 
grand an idea of the Resurrection Day. 

Packenham had promised his men that they should 
eat dinner in New Orleans. Yet by eight o'clock that 
morning he and most of his generals, with more than 
two thousand of his men, lay dead or wounded on the 
battlefield. Five hundred more were prisoners. The 
Americans lost only six killed and seven wounded ! Gen- 
eral Jackson had won the greatest victory in American 
history. 

The American people were sick at heart with their 
losses in the war, but a cry of joy followed the news of 
the victory as it spread slowly over the country. It 
reached Washington on the 4th of February, and the city 
was soon blazing with light while the people shouted for 
joy. Jackson was now a national hero, and by and by 
his great deeds made him President of the United 
States. 

And yet all this slaughter had taken place after peace 



QE \ ER l L JACKS01S A 1 \ I. \\ ORLEA \ S 200 

had been declared. The very day of the battle, the ship 
that was bringing the news to America was struggling 
with the waves on the bosom of the Atlantic ocean. 
There were no steamships then and the swiftest sailing 
vessels took six weeks or more to cross from Europe to 
this country. The good ship did not arrive at New York 
until the 11th of February. It came in after nightfall, 
but in half an hour the streets were packed with people 
crying ' ' Peace ! Peace ! Peace ! " In two days the glad 
tidings reached Washington and quickly spread all over 
the nation. 



210 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Sam Houston 

This remarkable man was born in the year 1793, in 
Rockbridge county, Virginia, Like so many other great 
men of Tennessee, he was of Scotch-Irish descent. His 
father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and 
fought for American liberty. His mother possessed 
many noble qualities which had their effect upon the life 
of her son. 

As a boy, Houston had little time to go to school, for 
his father was poor and had a, large family to support. 
Besides this, young Houston's love for nature made him 
more fond of roaming in the woods than of going to 
school. It thus turned out that he never obtained much 
education, though he had a strong mind and became an 
able man. 

Houston's father died in 1807. His mother then sold 
her property and crossed the mountains into the new 
settlement, in what is now Blount county in East Ten- 
nessee. Notwithstanding the hard work which now fell 
to young Houston's lot, he found time tx> attend Mary- 
ville College. Instead of applying himself to his studies, 
however, he would drill his fellow-students as soldiers. 
This showed what he was to be in the future. And yet, 
he did get a taste for reading. His favorite book was 
Homer's Iliad. The grand descriptions in this book of 



SAM HOUSTON 211 

contest and battle doubtless caused him to prefer it to< all 
others. 

Houston soon left college and went to work in a black- 
smith shop. His older brother did not like this and se- 
cured for him a place as a clerk in a store. This position 
did not suit Houston ; so he ran away and found shelter 
among the Cherokees, who lived near his home. Hare 
he slept on the ground, chased game, and read his favor- 
ite Iliad. People said that he "would either be a great 
Indian chief, or die in a madhouse, or be governor of 
the State, for it was very certain that some dreadful 
thing would overtake him. ' ' 

Houston continued his Indian life until he was eigh- 
teen years old. Now and then he came home to get new 
clothes, for his old ones would be worn to rags. As he 
was not earning any money, he got into debt after a 
while. With the purpose of paying off his obligations, 
he came into the white settlement and taught school. 

We next find him in Maryville College again, but he 
soon quit school a second time, and in 1813 joined the 
army as a common soldier. His mother handed him his 
gun, saying, "There, my son, take this musket and never 
disgrace it; for, remember, I had rather all my sons 
should fill one honorable grave than that one of them 
should turn his back to save his life. ' ' He was soon pro- 
moted to the office of flag bearer. 

Houston's command, which was sent with General 
Jackson to fight in the Creek War, took part in the battle 
of the Horseshoe. As the troops charged the redskins. 



212 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Major Montgomery, who was in the lead, was shot down 
on top of the breastwork. Ensign Houston took his place 
and called upon the men to follow. As he scaled the 
works, an Indian arrow struck deep into his thigh. 

As soon as possible, Houston tried to draw out the 
arrow, but he found that it would not move. He then 
asked a lieutenant to pull it out. The lieutenant tried 
twice and failed. Houston ordered him to try again and, 
holding his sword over the lieutenant's head, said, "If 
you fail this time, I will smite you to the earth. ' ' With a 
strong effort on the part of the lieutenant the arrow 
came forth, followed by a stream of blood. The flesh was 
frightfully torn, and General Jackson, coming up, or- 
dered Houston to keep to the rear. Houston disobeyed 
this order and was soon again at the head of his men 
leading in the fight. 

Later in the day two balls struck Houston in the 
shoulder while he was making a charge. This finished 
his part in the great victory. He was carried bleeding 
to the rear. A surgeon cut out one of the balls, but the 
wound never fully healed. His heroic deeds brought 
praise from all sides. 



II 



After the battle Houston was carried on a litter sixty- 
five miles to Fort Williams. Here, for a long time, he 
suffered want and lay on the brink of the grave. Some 
months later, he was borne between two horses all the 
way to his old home in Blount county. As he journeyed 




If you fail. T will smite you to the earth 



214 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

slowly through the wilderness he had no shelter and 
little to eat, His sufferings were great, but he bore them 
patiently. When at the end of the journey his mother 
stood over him, she could see nothing that resembled her 
son except the expression in his eyes. 

In 1818 Houston left the army and began the study of 
law at Nashville. In a short time he was admitted to the 
bar and began the practice of law at Lebanon, thirty 
miles east of Nashville. 

The next year he was appointed adjutant-general of 
the State. A few months later he was made district at- 
torney of the Davidson district and moved to Nashville. 
In this office he won great success, but with a view to 
earning a larger income, he soon returned to the prac- 
tice of the law. In 1823 he was elected to Congress and 
so well did he fill the place that he was reelected at the 
end of his first term. 

At the height of his popularity, Houston was chosen 
governor of the State. Soon after his election he mar- 
ried a lady of high standing, but in three short months 
he left her without giving any reason. For this he was 
censured very much, but he would make no reply to his 
critics. He soon resigned his high office and left the 
country. All his great fame and his bright future faded 
away like a dream. 

In the hour of his trouble, Houston's heart turned to 
the old Cherokee Indian chief who had adopted him as a 
son in his boyhood. The Cherokees had moved from 
East Tennessee to the Indian Territory. So Houston 



SAM HOUSTON 215 

turned his steps toward the great West. After a long 
journey he found a home in the wigwam of his Indian 
father. The old chief had become king of the Cherokees, 
and he welcomed his son with open arms. Again Hous- 
ton had turned his back upon the life of the white man 
and found peace in the wild life of the forest and the 
plains. 

After this, Houston's life stood apart from Tennessee 
affairs. In 1832 he drifted into Texas and again won 
great fame. He was the great leader in the Texan War 
of Independence. At San Jacinto the army under his 
command defeated Santa Anna,, the president of Mexico, 
and thereby won the independence of Texas. It was a 
glorious victory! Houston was then elected President 
of the new Texan Republic, and, after Texas was taken 
into the Union, he represented that State in the United 
States Senate. 

Tennesseans were in the thickest of the fight for the 
independence of Texas, and the greatest among them 
were Houston and Crockett. Both were rough men and 
rough fighters, and they were ready at any time to suffer 
and die for liberty. Their sublime courage placed them 
among the world's greatest heroes. Some day you must 
read the story of how Texas won her independence. You 
will then learn more of Houston's great victory at San 
Jacinto and Crockett's sublime defense of the Alamo. 



116 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Hunting Game 

You have already learned about the famous hunters 
like Daniel Boone, who made long trips into the wilder- 
ness to hunt big game and to fight Indians. Hunting was 
their trade, and they made money by selling the hides 
and furs of the animals which they caught in traps or 
shot with their long rifles. 

For a long time after Tennessee had been settled, 
there, was a great deal of game, and everybody hunted 
more or less. It was fine sport to go into the woods and 
shoot squirrels and wild turkeys. Every man owned a 
long flintlock rifle; shotguns were then but little used. 

Daniel Boone was fond of shooting squirrels as a pas- 
time. He could hit a squirrel's eye in the top of the 
tallest tree. He preferred, however, to kill them without 
having his bullet touch them in any way. "This was 
impossible, ' ' you say. Not at all. He aimed at the bark 
of the limb on which the squirrel 's body rested. At the 
crack of his rifle the squirrel flew into the air and 
dropped to the ground dead. The bark of the limb had 
been shivered, and the sudden jar had killed the squirrel. 
With the best hunters this was not an unusual way of 
killing squirrels. 

More skill was required in hunting wild turkeys. 
These birds were very shy, and would fly away at the 
least alarm. The most skillful hunters had a way of 



Ill \TI\<; GAME 217 

imitating the gobble of the male turkey. They hid them- 
selves in a suitable place and thus lured the game within 
range of their rifles. Indians, when at war with the 
whites, often decoyed hunters to their death by imitating 
the turkey 's gobble. 

In the Watauga settlement a white man once heard 
in the woods near his house what seemed to be the gobble 
of an old turkey cock. Suspecting something wrong, he 
picked up his gun and went out with the intention of 
finding out whether his suspicions were correct. He 
walked halfway around the body of woods and entered 
from the rear. Creeping very carefully in the direction 
of the sound, he soon found that, sure enough, it was 
an Indian hidden in the brushy top of a fallen tree. The 
next moment there was a crack of the white man's rifle 
and the Indian gobbler lay dead. 

Hunting the deer was considered the finest sport of all. 
There were places in the woods called "deer licks," or 
"buck scrapes." At these places many deer and other 
wild animals gathered to lick the salty ooze that came 
from the ground. Knowing their habits, a hunter would 
climb a neighboring tree and await the coming of the 
game. In most cases he did not have to wait long before 
his rifle brought down a good fat bu'ek. 

It was also the custom to chase deer with hounds. 
These dogs had a keen scent and followed the deer's 
track until they came within sight of him. Then they 
gave chase with a loud baying, which notified the hunters 
that the game had been started. The deer was very apt 



218 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

to pass a given point, or ' ' stand, ' ' known to the hunter, 
who placed himself there ready. If he was an old hunter, 
he scarcely ever failed to bring down the game, but a 
new man often became so excited that he missed the deer 
as it ran by. Such a one was said to have the "buck 
ague. ' ' That is, the deer so excited him that he trembled 
like a person with fever and ague, and for that reason 
missed Iris mark. 

Bear hunting was another noble sport. Davy Crockett 
was Tennessee's greatest bear hunter. A story is told 
to the effect that he once found some young bears, or 
cubs, in a hollow tree. Davy wanted to take the cubs 
alive and carry them home. The only way to get to them 
was by climbing up to a hole in the tree and going down 
the hollow inside. This Davy did, but, as he was begin- 
ning to climb out, he looked up and saw a dark object in 
the hole above him. It proved to be the mother bear, who 
had returned home and was coming down, to protect her 
children. 

As Davy took in the situation, his heart leaped into 
his mouth with fear, but all at once a happy thought 
struck him. The bear was coming down backward and, 
as soon as she was within reach, Davy grasped her tail, 
and, prodding her in the side with his hunter's knife, he 
made her pull him up to the hole, where he jmnped out 
and escaped. This is probably not a true story, but 
Davy Crockett himself told it. 



OLD TIA11J TRAVELING 219 



Old Time Traveling 

You have already learned that traveling was slow work 
in the early years of Tennessee history. The first set- 
tlers picked their way through the woods as best they 
could. Sometimes there was a buffalo path or an Indian 
trail to follow. The men generally traveled on foot, 
while the women and children rode horseback. 

Before the Revolutionary War, carriages and wagons 
were used in cities like New York and Philadelphia, but 
in the country they were rarely seen. The wagons were 
rudely built and made a great lumbering noise. Most 
people walked or rode on horseback. Women rode on 
side-saddles or behind their husbands, and often carried 
small children in their arms. 

Later, the use of vehicles spread, and, as roads were 
opened up, some of the settlers came to Tennessee in 
covered wagons. Even then most of the men preferred 
to walk and carry their guns. They kept a lookout for 
game upon which they depended for meat. They built a 
fire by the roadside at night, and slept in the wagon or 
under the shelter of the trees. 

It was not often that people made a long journey, but 
when they did, it took them a long time. You remember 
that Mr. Bailey was fifteen days in coming through the 
wilderness from Nashville to Knoxville. Now one may 



220 TENNESSEE HISTORY STOM1ES 

make the journey between these two places by a much 
longer route in about eight hours. But there was no 
hurry in those old days ; everybody had plenty of time. 

By and by better roads were built. Long military 
roads were constructed by the Federal government, and 
stage routes were laid off by the State, In early times 
there was a noted stage road leading across the Cumber- 
land Mountains from Nashville. It passed through 
Knosxville, Jonesboro, and other East Tennessee towns, 
and then through Virginia. One branch of this road led 
through North Carolina. 

This old stage road was the route which General Jack- 
son took when he went to the seat of government at 
Washington. After he became President, he traveled 
in his own carriage. Large crowds of people came out 
to meet him at different points along the line. It was a 
noted day when the President passed through a town or 
village. 

Old-fashioned country taverns were built along these 
stage roads. They stood about one day's travel apart, 
and gave accommodation to both man and beast. They 
did not equal our fine city hotels of the present day, but 
they were the best the country could then afford. Most 
of them have long since gone into decay. 

These taverns were the halting places for the stages. 
Unless it was a very fast trip, the passengers would get 
out at the tavern and rest during the night. In earlier 
times there were few taverns and travelers had to stop 
in private homes or cabins by the roadside. They often 




Old Time Traveling 



222 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

carried their own bedding, made up of blankets, and 
slept on the floor. The host sometimes helped them out 
with a bundle of straw or flax. 

As the stagecoach approached any stopping pla.ee, the 
driver blew a long bugle to notify the people of its ar- 
rival. The stage carried the mail and brought the latest 
news. The mail bags were carried in a place on the back 
of the stage called the ' ' boot. ' ' 

Stagecoaches were first used in America about the 
year 1800, and reached Tennessee somewhat later. They 
carried about nine passengers inside and two on the seat 
with the driver. In case of necessity, three or four per- 
sons could ride on the flat top of the coach. The trunks 
of the passengers were carried behind, in the "boot," 
with the mail. 

The stagecoaches themselves were interesting old ve- 
hicles. The running-gear was stronger than that of any 
wagon you have ever seen, It was made strong in order 
to withstand the shocks of striking against boulders and 
stumps while the horses were going at a gallop. The 
body of the coach hung upon great leather straps instead 
of resting upon steel springs. There were also straps 
inside for the passengers to hold ; for, when the driver 
was making fast time, the inmates were often thrown 
from their seats. Yet in the early days the fastest stage- 
coaches went but little further in a day than some of our 
trains now run in an hour. In 1842 a new ' ' fast line" of 
stagecoaches was advertised to carry passengers from 
Knoxville to Washington city in six days and six hours. 



OLD II I// / R I l ELINQ 223 



II 



People who traveled by water in the earliest times, 
went in canoes, flat-boats, and keel boats. These were pro- 
pelled by hand, with oars or poles. Produce and pas- 
sengers were carried down the rivers by these craft, but 
no regular trips were made. By a great effort the keel 
boats were often brought back upstream ; but when the 
flatboats reached the end of their voyage, they were 
broken up and sold for lumber. 

The first steamboat on the Mississippi river passed 
down to New Orleans in the latter part of the year 1811 
and the first of 1812. It was built in Pittsburg, and was 
called the New Orleans. Five or six years later, steamers 
began to appear on other rivers in Tennessee, and, be- 
fore the end of the first half of the century, lines of boats 
were plying on all our navigable streams. 

Steamboats were a great improvement on keel boats 
and barges, but for several years they made slow time. 
In 1820 the steamer Ri/h'in<ni ran from New Orleans to 
Nashville in thirty days, and was called the fastest boat 
on the river. By 1845 boats could make the same trip 
in five or six days. Railway trains now make it in less 
than one day. 

Steamboat days were days of happy memory. The 
steamers on the Mississippi were like floating palaces. 
The table fare and other accommodations were most ex- 



224 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

cellent, and trips on these boats were delightful. They 
were crowded with wealthy planters and their families, 
and the social life was charming. However long the 
voyage might last, everybody was sorry when it came to 
an end. 

People in Tennessee began to think of building rail- 
roads about 1835. One of the first lines talked of was to 
lead from Charleston, South Carolina, and pass through 
Knoxville, in the heart of East Tennessee, to Cincinnati, 
Ohio. Strange to say this line is still talked of, but has 
never been built. The Tennessee Central, which has re- 
cently been completed, was strongly talked of about the 
same time, and the State legislature appropriated sev- 
eral thousand dollars to make a survey of the line. 

Among the first railroads built were the Nashville and 
Chattanooga, the Memphis and Charleston, and the East 
Tennessee and Georgia,— now a part of the Southern. 
At first these roads were short, and the business done 
was very small as compared with that of the present 
day. Passengers and freight had to be transferred at 
the end of each line. Waybills were made out for pas- 
sengers as well as for freight, and transportation charges 
were often lost when not collected in advance. Connec- 
tions with other railroads were very poor, and passen- 
gers lost much time in waiting for trains at different 
points. There were no sleeping cars. People who wanted 
to sleep got off the train at night and went to a hotel. 

All the railroads were short and there were no through 
tickets. People had much trouble in changing cars and 



OLD II III-: TEA \ I : LING 225 

getting their baggage through safely. A trip to New 
York or any distant point, was a great tax on the pa- 
tience and endurance of the passenger. Even the money 
that was used had different values in different States, 
and had frequently to be exchanged at a loss by dis- 
count. In most cases only a part of the route could be 
made by rail. Sometimes you would have to take a 
steamboat or a stagecoach. Yet we have people in our 
own day who sigh for the "good old times' ' and say, 
1 ' Things are not like they used to be. ' ' 



226 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Davy Crockett as a Boy 

Davy Crockett, the great Tennessee bear hunter, was 
born in 1786 at Strong's Springs, near Limestone, in 
East Tennessee. For awhile his father kept a small 
tavern to entertain travelers. This tavern stood on the 
great road between Knoxville and Abingdon, but it did 
not prove profitable. Davy afterward said that while 
living here he learned very well the meaning of "hard 
times and a plenty of them. ' ' 

One evening a German cattle drover, who was on his 
way to Rockbridge county, Virginia, stopped at the tav- 
ern. On leaving, he hired Davy to go along and drive 
the cattle. The boy was treated kindly, and he stayed in 
Rockbridge county for some time. 

At last Davy grew tired of Virginia, and wanted to 
come home. One day he found some wagons that were 
going to Tennessee and he got permission of the wagon- 
ers to go with them. He did not tell the German with 
whom he lived that he intended to leave, but stole out 
with his clothes about midnight and walked seven miles 
through a blinding snowstorm to the inn where the 
wagons had stopped. About daybreak the wagons 
started on their journey of nearly four hundred miles. 
They made such slow progress that Davy at last left 
them and went on ahead. His people were very glad 
indeed when he reached home. 



DAVY CROCKETT A8 A BOY 227 

As Davy had not yet learned to read, his father started 
him to school. The fourth day of his attendance he had 
a fight with one of the boys. As he was afraid he would 
be whipped by both his father and the teacher, he ran 
away with a cattle drover and went to Virginia a second 
time. It was common at that time to drive cattle to Vir- 
ginia by the wagon road, and all goods were hauled 
through to Tennessee by wagons. 

Davy went from place to place in Virginia and hired 
himself out several times. Once he got as far as Balti- 
more in Maryland, and went down to the wharf to take 
a look at the ships. He was so pleased that he hired 
himself to a captain to go to sea. He had come to Bal- 
timore with a wagoner, and, when he went to get his 
clothes, the wagoner would not let him go back to the 
ship. His life might have been very different, if it had 
not been for the wagon driver. 

After working very hard for some time, Davy got to- 
gether a little money and started home. When he 
reached New River in Virginia,, he found the stream so 
swollen that nobody would row him over. Jumping 
into a boat, he started to row himself across. The boat 
soon began to leak so rapidly that Davy was afraid that 
it would sink in the middle of the river. But after being- 
carried two. miles down stream by thfc swift current, 
he finally reached the opposite shore in safety and con- 
tinued his journey. 

His people were not expecting* him at home. When 
he reached the little tavern, he found it full of guests. 



228 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

So he slipped in without being noticed and sat down at 
the table with the rest. In a short time his sister knew 
him and cried, i ' It is Davy ! It is Davy ! ' ' There was so 
mnch joy over his return that Davy felt that he had 
done wrong by staying away so long. 

Davy had a good heart and loved his people. His 
father was in debt, and Davy, instead of going to school, 
worked six months for a neighbor to pay a debt of thirty- 
six dollars. He then worked six months more to pay 
forty dollars, for which his father had given his note to 
a Quaker. When the note became due, Davy brought 
it to his father. He thought it had been sent for collec- 
tion and he felt much troubled, for he had no money. 
When Davy told him that he had paid the note, the old 
man could not restrain his tears. Davy felt a joy that 
paid him for all his toil. 



Ai\ -OLD FIELD" SCHOOL 229 



An -Old Field " School 

The little boys and girls who read this book may have 
never heard of an "old field" school. It was the kind 
of school that the boys and girls went to in the early 
history of this country. The schoolhouse often stood in 
a worn-out field. This is why it was called an "old 
field ' ' school. 

To-day we are going to visit one of these old schools. 
The time is about the year 1820. The schoolhouse stands 
in the center of the settlement, so that it may be most 
convenient to all the children. It is built of rough logs, 
and has a dirt floor. A fire has been made in the middle 
of the room, and the smoke goes out through an opening 
in the board roof. The cracks in the walls are daubed 
with clay. In one side is a rough door and in the other a 
small, square window. 

The furniture of the schoolroom is very simple, in- 
deed. Instead of desks there are rude seats made from 
logs. The log has been split open and long pegs arc 
driven into holes bored at each end. TJiese pegs serve 
for legs, and the split side of the log has been smoothed 
off for a seat. Rows of pegs around the wall hold the 
hats and dinner baskets. A long, flat bench, wider and 
higher than the rest, stands in the back pari of the room 
for a writing table. There are no blackboards or maps. 



230 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

and but few books. The seats are placed in the form of 
a square around the fire. 

It is Monday morning and the little boys are up with 
the sun in order to finish their work before school time. 
The hogs and cattle are to be fed and turned out into the 
fields where they can graze during the day. As soon as 
breakfast is over, every boy is ready to start, for the 
school begins its work very early. 

As a pupil nears the schoolhouse, he finds the other 
children at their studies. It is the rule that every child 
must go in and begin work as soon as he reaches the 
schoolroom. If, when the teacher comes, he should find 
any pupil playing outside, that pupil will be punished. 
In the short days of winter some of the larger boys are 
in their seats before the sun rises. We find a big fire 
blazing on the hearth, for it is the rule that the first boy 
to reach the schoolhouse shall make the fire. 

You will be surprised at the way these children study. 
While the teacher hears one pupil recite., all the rest 
study aloud, and when the ' * big spelling lesson ' ' is being 
studied, just before noon, they almost shout at the tops 
of their voices. The pupils try to make the teacher think 
they are studying very hard by making a great noise. 
Such schools were called "loud schools.'' In traveling 
through the country, one could always tell when he was 
coming upon one of these schools by the noise the chil- 
dren made in studying their lessons. Many people of 
those days thought this was the only true way to study. 

Other curious customs in this school will surprise you. 
As the pupils are sitting busily at work, they are 



AN ''OLD FIELD" SCHOOL i:\ 1 

startled by a strange cry. A youth on horseback is pass- 
ing the door and all at once he shouts the words ' ' School 
butter!" This is taken as a dare, or an insult, to the 
school. At once all the larger boys rise and without a 
word from the teacher rush from the house in pursuit of 
the offender. If they catch him, they carry him to the 
nearest creek and give him a " ducking," as it is called. 
Sometimes the poor fellow is almost drowned, but the 
honor of the school is preserved. 

The custom of barring out the teacher was also com- 
mon in the "old field" schools. At the close of the 
school term or at Christmas, the teacher was expected to 
treat the pupils to apples or cider. Sometimes he 
might give them gingerbread. Candy was not to be had 
at that time. 

A committee of the larger boys wait upon the teacher 
to request the treat. If he refuses, war is declared. 
Before day the next morning the boys are at the 
schoolhouse. To keep the teacher from getting in, all 
the seats are piled against the door and the window. 
From behind these breastworks the demand for a treat 
is again made when the teacher arrives. He is thus kept 
at bay till he yields. ' If he stands out too long or tries 
to leave, the boys come out and carry him to the creek 
where he has to give up or submit to a " ducking. ' ' 



232 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



The Boyhood of a Great Ship Captain 

On the old stage road, about fifteen miles below Knox- 
ville, is a sleepy little village. It is called Campbell's 
Station, because in the early settlement of the country 
a man named Campbell built a station, or blockhouse, 
there. In time of war the settlers gathered into this 
place as a protection against the Indians. About three 
or four miles from this station the great American ad- 
miral, David G. Farragut, was born. His father 's house 
stood on the bank of the Tennessee river. Admiral 
Dewey visited this place on May 15, 1900, and dedicated 
a stone that marks the spot. It was erected by Bonny 
Kate Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion. 

Few people think of Admiral Farragut as a Ten- 
nessean ; yet he was a native of Tennessee, and was so 
put down on the rolls of the navy. His parents were 
living in the State when David was born, though they 
soon removed to Louisiana. 

Farragut 's father was a full-blooded Spaniard, hav- 
ing been born on the island of Minorca,. By looking on 
the map, you will find that this island lies off the east 
coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of a 
group of islands which, are under Spanish control. The 
Farraguts were a very old family, and had taken part in 
the war against the Moors in the thirteenth century. 

When Farragut 's father was a young man, he left his 



2 111. B01 HOOD OF .1 GREAT SHIP CAP1 \ I \ 233 

island home and came to America. He reached this 
country in 1776, the year in which independence was 
declared. He soon decided that he would help the 
Americans in their struggle for liberty. Joining the 
Revolutionary army, he fought gallantly to the end. 

The elder Farragut was of a wild, restless disposition, 
and sought a home on the western frontier of North 
Carolina, of which Tennessee was then a part. About 
the same time he married Miss Elizabeth Shine, a North 
Carolina girl. Some years afterward, while they were 
living near Campbell's Station, as mentioned before, 
their son David was born. 

The Indians were still in the Tennessee country and 
often made war upon the settlers. One day a small 
party of Indian warriors came to the Farragut home. 
When David's mother saw the Indians approaching, 
she sent her little son into the loft of their house to keep 
the redskins from finding him. She then barred the 
door, and, seizing an axe, stood guard till the Indians 
left. This was one of the first things that David could 
remember. 

It was soon after fhis that the family went to Louis- 
iana and for a while lived in New Orleans. David's 
mother died of yellow fever and he was adopted as a son 
by Commodore Porter. A little later, the commodore 
took David with him by sea to Washington city, where 
he put him in school. 

At Washington, David became acquainted with Mr. 
Paul Hamilton, Secretary of the Navy, who, learning 



234 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

the lad 's desire to go to sea, gave kirn an appointment as 
midshipman at the age of ten. He was soon assigned 
to duty on board the Esses under command of Commo- 
dore Porter. 

David was well pleased with his new life, bnt the 
duties were rather hard for so small a lad. One night 
it was his duty to stand watch on the deck of his ship. 
He did pretty well for a while, but his eyes finally grew 
heavy and, before he knew it, his head dropped over 
against a gun carriage and he was fast asleep. Soon an 
officer passed that way and found the young midship- 
man sleeping on his post. For this he could have been 
punished very severely, but the good man knew he 
meant no wrong. So he stopped only to throw a cover- 
ing over the sleeping form to keep off the chilly night 
air. 

Some day you must read the full story of Admiral 
Farragut's life. You will then learn how a Tennessee 
boy became a great sea captain and what brave deeds he 
did. He was one of the most noted admirals in the 
United States navy during the great war between the 
North and the South. In the battle of Mobile Bay he 
stood boldly in the rigging of his ship and gave com- 
mands to his fleet while the cannon balls from the Con- 
federate ships whistled around him. 

A statue of Farragut has been erected in Washington 
city. He is represented as standing with a spyglass in 
his hand watching the progress of a battle which ended 
in one of his great naval victories. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF WEST TENNESSEE 235 



The Settlement of West Tennessee 

West Tennessee was a very desirable country, but it- 
was the last part of the State to be settled. East Ten- 
nessee and Middle Tennessee each had a large popula- 
tion and had made many improvements before people 
began to move into West Tennessee. 

The reason for not settling West Tennessee earlier 
was that the land was used as a hunting ground by the 
Chickasaw Indians. These Indians had been good 
friends to the American people. On this account our 
government felt that it would be treating the Indians 
unjustly to take their lands from them. The United 
States had made several treaties with the Chickasaws 
with regard to their lands. In 1818 a final treaty was 
made by which the Indians gave up all West Tennessee 
for settlement. 

Before this treaty was made, only a small number of 
people, called squatters, had settled in the country. 
These were on the Mississippi river or along the few 
roads which led through the wilderness. After the 
treaty had been made, the settlers moved in rapidly. 
Within ten years the country was nearly all settled. 
Lands were cleared, roads were made, 1 counties were 
laid off, churches were organized, and schools were 
built. 

There were no noted "first" settlements like those of 
Watauga and the Cumberland. People came in Prom 



236 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

every direction and many places were settled at the same 
time. Surveyors and land speculators were, as usual, 
first on the ground. The price of land rose rapidly, and 
the traders ' profits were large. 

Most of the land was very fertile. It was level or 
gently rolling. A hill that would not be noticed in East 
Tennessee was called a "mountain." A friend once 
drove the writer some distance to show him one of these 
"mountains" near Covington. In some places the land 
was covered with prairie grass and pea vines. Other 
portions were heavily timbered, and the lowlands along 
the streams were dense jungles of cane, wild vines, and 
undergrowth. 

Wonderful stories were told of the fertility of the 
country, especially among the negro slaves, who came 
with their masters. Toi them it was a land "literally 
flowing with milk and honey, ' ' as one writer says. The 
soil was so rich that the negro would no longer need to 
work. He had only to make a hole in the ground with 
his heel and drop in some grains of corn in order to get 
a big crop. The trees, they said, were full of delicious 
fruit, and strawberries covered the ground, while roasted 
pigs ran around with knives and forks in their backs 
ready to be eaten. 

The first settlers often made their way through the 
country with great difficulty. They had to cut roads for 
their wagons through the thick woods and put rude 
bridges over many of the streams. Sometimes the 
wagons were taken apart and carried across swamps and 



THE SETTLEMENT OF WEST TENNESSEE 237 

large creeks. Many settlers brought a large force of 
negro slaves to assist them in subduing the wilderness, 
and in some cases as much as eighty acres of land was 
cleared for cultivation the first year. They had an 
abundance of tools and stock for fanning. Deer and 
bears a.t first furnished a plentiful supply of meat in ad- 
dition to the rapidly growing herds of sheep, hogs, and 
cattle. 



II 



Most of the settlers came from Middle Tennessee, 
though a great many came from the States east of Ten- 
nessee and from the Mississippi country. Others entered 
on the west side by way of the Mississippi and other 
rivers. Davy Crockett built his cabin on the Obion river 
at an early date. He helped to lay out the town of Troy 
in 1825, and in a few years he was sent to' Congress to 
become famous as a ''backwoods statesman." 

Memphis was laid off and the first lot sold in 1819— 
the next year after the treaty with the Chickasaws. It 
is said to have been bought by Peggy Grace. John 
Overton did much to 'build up the city, and for this rea- 
son he has been called the father of Memphis, 

For some years Randolph, in Tipton county, was a 
rival of Memphis. It was several miles above Memphis 
on the Mississippi river, near the mouth of the Big 
Hatchie. It commanded a fine trade from most of the 
West Tennessee counties on the east. Boats could go as 
far up the Hatchie as Bolivar. People fchougnl that 



238 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Randolph would be tlie big city of West Tennessee, but 
stage lines and railroads caused Memphis to prosper, 
and Randolph was soon lost sight of. 

There was much talk in that day of connecting the 
Tennessee and Mississippi rivers by a canal. The Big 
Hatchie river was to be made the main channel, and its 
head waters were to be connected with a stream which 
empties into the Tennessee. At the present day the work 
would not seem a very great undertaking. When the 
subject was first being discussed the governor of Ten- 
nessee, in a message to the legislature, favored the enter- 
prise, but most of our statesmen in that day did not want 
the Federal government to undertake such work. If 
this canal had been built, it is almost certain that the 
little town of Randolph would have become the great 
commercial city of Tennessee instead of Memphis. It 
would have obtained all the trade of the Tennessee river 
besides keeping the large trade it already had. 

Weakly county was settled in 1819. The first cabin 
was built by John Bradshaw. Henry Stunson was the 
first white child born in the county. The first hogshead 
of tobacco was raised by Vincent Rust. It was hauled 
in a wagon to Hickman, Kentucky, and sold for five 
cents a pound. 

Madison county was settled about 1820. Dr. William 
Butler planted cotton there in 1821 and built a cotton 
gin. In the same year the first house was built in Jack- 
son by Thomas Shannon. Bernard Mitchell was the first 
man to bring a keel boat up the Forked Deer river. 



THE SETTLEMENT OF WEST TENNESSEE 239 

It was not long before Jackson was the center of 
activity in this part of the State. The first newspaper 
in West Tennessee was published there. A courthouse 
was built in 1822. It was made of round logs and had 
a dirt floor and a clay chimney. The first frame house 
was built of lumber brought in a keel boat from East 
Tennessee. It came down the Tennessee, the Ohio, and 
the Mississippi, and then up the Forked Deer. 

As might ha,ve been expected, the lands along the 
large rivers were generally settled first, The counties 
first laid off were in some cases very large and included 
others that have since been organized. Fayette was one 
of the. later counties to be settled. The settlers found it 
full of bears, deer, wolves, and other wild animals. Jos- 
eph Simpson claimed to have killed a bear in 1824 on 
the ground where the courthouse at Souierville now 
stands. 

The geographical names in West Tennessee, as well 
as in other pails of our country, suggest to us many 
great men and events in history. Madison county re- 
minds us of President Madison, and its county seat 
makes us think of stern old Andrew Jackson, another 
President. The county seat of Henderson county tells 
us of the battle of Lexington. Other counties call to 
mind Patrick Henry, Commodore Decatur, Judge Mc- 
Nairy, Davy Crockett, the Tiptons, the Shelbys and so 
on. Even ancient Egypt is represented in the name of 
Memphis, and the siege of Troy in Obion county's for- 
mer capital. 



240 TENNESSEE U I STORY STORIES 



Frontier Sports and Pastime] 

There was so much cutting down of trees, and build- 
ing of houses, and clearing of fields, along with fighting- 
Indians, that the first settlers had little time for sports 
and pastimes. Their hard lives caused them to take 
everything in a very matter-of-fact way. Nor were the 
people naturally of a very light-hearted disposition. As 
you have already learned, they were largely of Scotch- 
Irish stock. These people were somewhat like the Puri- 
tans of New England and did not look with great favor 
upon mere sport and enjoyment. 

The Scotch-Irish were old fashioned Presbyterians 
and kept the Sabbath in a very strict way. A little boy 
was not allowed to whistle or laugh aloud on Sunday. 
After 5 attending church in the morning, he had to study 
the catechism and look solemn all the rest of the day. 
Because* these people were so strict in their way of liv- 
ing, some of the more worldly sort of folks called them 
' ' bluestockings. ' ' In any event, they were a good people 
and were among the very best citizens. 

After the settlements were well established and the In- 
dians were driven away, the people began to enjoy life 
more. They combined pleasure with their work. They 
had log rollings, and corn huskings, and quilting bees, 
to which everybody was invited. Big dinners and sup- 



FRONTIER SPORTS AND PASTIME 241 

pers were spread, and feasting and merrymaking were 
the order of the day. 

In some things people were not so strict then as they 
arc now. There were many little ' ' stillhouses " in the 
country. At these a great many apples and peaches 
were made into brandy, and much corn was changed 
into whisky So, at the quilting bees and corn huskings, 
it was a very common practice to hand around "peach 
and honey" and a little "whiskey toddy." The worst 
of it was that some people drank too much. 

The quilting bees and corn huskings sometimes wound 
up with a big dance at night. This amusement was not 
favored by the church people, but was indulged in by 
the more worldly class. The dances consisted of reels, 
minuets, jigs, and breakdowns. The music was usually 
furnished by a couple of backwoods fiddlers who played 
a. great variety of curious old tunes which are not to be 
found in any book of music. 

Tn parts of the State where fine stock was raised, horse 
lacing was a common sport. In his early days, General 
.Jackson was a leader in this pastime. A noted race track 
was at Clover Bottom near the Hermitage. At the horse 
races of those days there was much betting, hard drink- 
ing, and hard fighting. With respect to the fighting es- 
pecially, the present is a great improvement over the 
old days. 

Unfortunately there was a rude element among our 
ancestors that often engaged in cock fighting, cruel as 
that sport was. They also had shooting matches, gen- 



242 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

erally near a stillhouse. Those who engaged in this 
sport would buy a beef or a mutton and put up the dif- 
ferent quarters of the animal as prizes for the best 
shots. The hide and tallow were also put up as one of 
the prizes. 

The season of special enjoyment was Christmas. In 
celebrating this festival our ancestors followed the 
people of the older Southern colonies. Everybody 
wanted to make a noise of some kind. Long before day, 
the settlers were often aroused from slumber by a com- 
pany of neighbors firing volleys from their rifles. To 
amuse themselves the young men of the neighborhood 
would play a great many pranks. They carried away 
gates and took wagons to pieces and then put the parts 
together again on top of the barn, or up in the fork of a 
tree. There were many dances, or "frolics" as they 
were termed, to which all the young folks of the neigh- 
borhood were invited. Children, and sometimes older 
people, stole in upon their neighbors to- ' ' get their Christ- 
mas gift," as they said. It was the custom, especially 
where there were great plantations, for all the negro 
slaves to go up to the master's house on Christmas morn- 
ing and receive presents. 

Fox-hunting was greatly enjoyed by certain persons 
who kept packs of hounds. There were two kinds of 
foxes— the grey fox and the red fox. The hunters usu- 
ally went out on the chase late at night after the fox had 
time to travel about. Soon a trail was struck and the 
baying of the hounds began. The chase was apt to last 



FR01S TIER SPORTS AND PASTIME 243 

many hours, and, if a red i'nx was Btarted, lie might not 
be caught till the next afternoon or later. The red fox 
would run a long distance without changing his direc- 
tion, but the grey fox would circle, around his den. Often 
the hunters sat upon a high ridge where they were in 
full hearing of the hounds. On a still night, the baying 
of the dogs made sweet music to the hunter's ears. 

Children had no beautiful toys and books for Christ- 
mas as they have now T . There were no Christmas trees, 
and little was said about Santa Claus. Yet all enjoyed 
themselves in their own simple way. The boys had their 
board sleds, bows and arrows, and blow guns, which 
they or their fathers had made. They set traps for 
birds and snares for rabbits. All the streams were full 
of fish and it was rare sport to catch them with hook 
and line during the spring months. 

At school, boys played town ball, bull pen, and cat. 
They also had running games like "prisoner's base" 
and "black man." Marbles were a common game, but 
there were no tops, except in the larger towns. Some- 
times boys in the country "danced" very small gourds 
for tops. They spun them with the ringer and thumb, or 
with a strong flax thread. Girls played such games as 
"my chicken, my crane, or my crow" and "Old Granny 
Malinda." 



244 TENXESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



Killing His First Bear 

Mr Joseph S. Williams is supposed to have been the 
author of a very interesting book called ' ' Old Times in 
West Tennessee. ' ' In this book he tells how he killed his 
first bear. 

Young Williams was a large, strong boy, and had just 
learned to shoot "off hand" with a gun. His father had 
given him a handsome little rifle. He never went into the 
woods without carrying this rifle on his shoulder. He 
also had a little Scotch bull terrier named Tasso. 

It was the duty of Joseph to go out into the woods 
every evening and drive up the cows. One afternoon, 
during the month of August, he picked up his little rifle 
and started on his daily task. His dog Tasso>, of course, 
trotted along by his side. A younger brother also joined 
the party. 

They found the cows more than a mile away, quietly 
grazing on a level stretch of land in the Big Hatchie 
bottom. It was an open space where walnut and hickory 
trees grew and the cows could find plenty of wild pea 
vines. Not far away a thick canebrake began and ex- 
tended to the river, half a mile away. Next to the cane 
was a slough, or sluggish stream, that emptied into the 
river. 

The boys soon had the herd headed for home with the 



KILLING 111* FIRS1 BE I B 245 

old bell cow in the lead. It was still early and they 
thought they would turn aside lor a short hunt. With 
some changes to a simpler form of expression the rest 
of the story is given in Joseph Williams's own words: 

' ' We had gone but a short distance when a young deer 
sprang out of the brushy top of a. fallen tree. It ran off 
about forty yards and stopped. A sharp crack from my 
little rifle startled a hoot owl and with its cry came the 
distressful bleat of the fawn. I had shot too far back, 
breaking him down in the loins. 

"I had heard old hunters say that wild beasts of prey 
would come to the bleating of a fawn as far as they could 
hear it. Knowing that we were near the haunts of the 
bear and the panther, I fell to reloading my rifle. 

' ' I had not more than got the charge of powder to the 
muzzle when a startling crash and cracking of the cane 
was heard across the slough. There was a plunge into 
the water and the next moment a monster bear came up 
the bank and made his way to where the fawn lay. 

"Tasso slipped from us and reached the fawn just as 
the bear came up. He was a brave little fellow and 
undertook to dispute the bear's right to the game. They 
began to fight over the little deer which had crawled 
out of sight behind the upturned roots of a fallen tree 
and continued its bleating. Soon I heard Tasso squall 
out and then all was still. I feared he had received his 
death blow and hastened to liis relief. 

"I found the dog in the folds of the bear's huge arms. 
He was grappling at the bear's throat with all his might. 



246 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

The dog's small size alone saved him. The bear was 
so annoyed by the dog that he did not see me. I tried to 
get a shot at him without hurting my dog, but he kept his 
head in such constant motion that I was unable to shoot 
him through the brain. 

"Finally the bear sat upright with his back toward 
me. I fired and the bullet passed through his loins. The 
huge beast sprawled at full length upon the 1 ground and 
Tasso was saved. I then reloaded, and a bullet through 
the bear's head ended his misery. 

"I had expected to find my little dog badly hurt, but 
was glad to see that he had lost only two toes from one 
of his forefeet. My browner had been a quiet spectator. 
The little deer kept up its bleating until relieved by the 
hunting knife. 

"The sun had gone down and it was now growing 
dark in the bottoms. We were a mile and a half from 
home with all this big game on our hands. If the bear 
had been fat, it would have weighed six hundred pounds 
or more. It was my first bear, too. I felt that I would 
build up a fire and spend the night there rather than 
leave him. 

"I began blowing my horn. Everybody who went 
into the woods carried a horn in those days. I continued 
to blow at intervals, knowing that I should soon be an- 
swered by the big horn at home. In the meantime I 
struck fire with the flintlock of my gun. We put fire to 
the tree top and soon had a flame that lit up the woods 
far and near. 



KILLING EI8 FIRST BEAR 247 

"We blew again and were answered by the big horn. 
In a little while my father came riding up with an old 
negro named Jack. He wanted to know what was the 
matter and I simply pointed to the bear as an explana- 
tion. The bright light from the tree top exposed to view 
the black monster and the spotted fawn. 

"I then gave full particulars of the killing. My 
father ordered Jack to return to the house in haste and 
have Jim bring a yoke of oxen hitched to the fore 
wheels of the wagon. He was to come quickly down the 
river road and bring several men with him. 

"Within an hour we saw Jim coming through the 
woods toward us. He had Bright and Darling yoked to 
the fore wheels of the wagon, as directed. In another 
hour we were at home with my "first killing.' ' I re- 
ceived many congratulations and was the hero of the 
evening. Prom that day I was numbered among the 
bear hunters. ' ' 



248 TEXXESSEE U1ST0RY STORIES 



Davy Crockett as a Bear Hunter 

It was while he lived in West Tennessee that Davy 
Crockett gained his greatest fame as a bear hunter. He 
learned all about bears. He knew what they fed upon 
and when they were fat; he could tell where they made 
their lairs; he knew by the scratches on a hollow tree 
whether the bear had gone up into his hole or come 
down. 

About the year 1825 Crockett was building a boat and 
getting out staves on one of those West Tennessee lakes 
which have been so noted for the abundance of game 
in their vicinity. This was about twenty miles from his 
home on the Obion river. He had not worked long be- 
fore he became restless and yearned for the woods. He 
owned eight hounds which had been finely trained for 
big game. With these he started out to hunt for bears, 
and in a few days returned with a heavy store of meat. 

One of Iris neighbors was soon out of meat and asked 
Crockett's help in obtaining a supply. They started out 
for a hunt of two weeks. The number of bears killed 
averaged one a day. Having thus supplied his friend 
with an abundance of meat, Crockett went back to work 
on Iris boat. 

Soon the desire for hunting came upon him again, 
and he started out for another hunt. This time he took 
his son along. Here and there the land was covered with 



DAVY CROC hi: II IN I BEAR III VTER 249 

thick growths of cane, especially along the larger 
streams. In these cane thickets, bears often took refuge 
and made their homes. The hunt had scarcely begun 
when Crockett's dogs came upon a bear in one of these 
canebrakes. Thinking it unnecessary to waste a shut 
on this bear, he rushed up and killed it with his knife 
as the dogs held it upon the ground. He then heard the 
report of his son's gun in the distance. On coming to 
the spot he found another dead bear. 

One of the dogs was now barking in the woods not far 
away. All hurried to the place and there sat a very 
large bear high up on the limb of a tree. ( Vockott fired 
and the huge beast came tumbling to the ground. Thus 
a half hour had scarcely passed before they had killed 
three bears. 

The country was 'thinly settled. Little was to be seen 
except dense forests, swamps, and canebrakes. On this 
trip Crockett came upon a poor man who was clearing 
some land. He looked ill and very thin. He was work- 
ing to earn some money to buy meat, as Iris supply was 
exhausted. Crockett told the man that, if he would go 
with him, they would in a few hours capture enough 
bear's meat to last him sonic time. The man said he 
had never seen a bear killed, but lie gladly consented to 
go. Before night four bears were killed and by the end 
of the week Crockett had killed thirteen more. At the 
end of the hunt Crockett gave his poor friend a thousand 
pounds of fine, fat, bear meat, which was enough to last 
him and Iris family a whole year. 



250 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

About the first of January all the bears in West Ten- 
nessee became fat. They then crawled into caves or hol- 
low trees and slept till April It was said that during 
this time they ate nothing, but only dozed and sucked 
the bottoms of their paws. It was again said that they 
lived upon their own fat ; for, when they came out in the 
spring, they were very lean and hungry. 

The next time we find Crockett out hunting," the bears 
had gone into winter quarters. Another of his neigh- 
bors was out of meat and Crockett could not refuse his 
request to go on a bear hunt to procure a supply of the 
much needed food. 

In this hunt they found a bear in a large canebrake. 
It had built a sort of cabin in which it was enjoying its 
long winter nap. The dogs at first were afraid to go in, 
but at the word of their master they broke into the bear's 
house and soon came out in a rough and tumble fight 
with Bruin. A shot from Crockett's friend settled the 
beast. 

The party stopped for the night with a friend near by. 
The next morning they salted their meat and continued 
the hunt into the woods between Beel-Foot Lake and the 
Obion river. The land was covered with trees that had 
been blown down by a recent tornado*, and Crockett ex- 
pected to find this place full of bears. Yet they rode 
five miles without finding any large game. 

As the hunters were about to give up, Crockett found 
a black oak tree with a hole in it large enough to admit 
a bear. It stood on a high ridge where a bear would most 



DAVY CROCKETT AS 1 BEAR HUNTTi: 251 

naturally seek his winter home. Crockett examined the 
bark of the tree and found that the scratches of the 
bear's claws indicated that he had gone up into the hole 
and had not come down. 



II 



Before this bear could be secured, the dogs set up a 
barking further down the ridge. The party hurried to 
the spot and found a big bear sitting up in a tree. At 
the crack of a rifle it came tumbling to the ground. 
Crockett saw that they had come into a town of sleeping 
bears. 

They now looked around and found that the leading- 
dog was gone. Crockett went to a high point of ground 
where he could listen, and sure enough he heard the 
dog bark. Running to the spot, he found another bear 
up in a tree, It took but a moment to shoot this one. 
Then he rushed back to the hollow tree where they had 
left the first bear. 

Crockett's son, who> had been left at this tree, first cut 
down a sapling, intending to have it fall against the 
large black oak. Then he would go up the sapling as if it 
were a ladder and look down the hole in the big tree to 
see where the bear lay. But as the saplrng fell the wrong 
way, the boy cut into the big tree at the ground and 
found that it was only a thin shell. 

By this time Bruin had been aroused from his sleep 
and had climbed up the inside of the tree. He then put 



252 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

his head out of the hole above and looked down as if to 
say, ' ' What are you bad men doing to my house! ' ' He 
started down the outside of the tree to see about it, but 
a rifle ball brought him tumbling to the ground. He 
was far from dead and was about to overcome the dogs 
in a fierce battle, when Crockett shot him through the 
heart. 

The next morning Crockett and his friend left the boy 
in camp and set out to hunt in the fallen timber about 
three miles away. This was the place where the tornado 
had passed through. In the midst of the fallen timbers, 
the dogs treed a bear. Crockett was so tired that his 
nerves were unsteady, and so it took two shots to kill this 
one. 

They reached camp about sunset. Before they had 
got settled, however, the dogs were barking again. 
Crockett was tired and hungry, but nothing could keep 
him back. So<, leaping from his horse, he was soon lost 
to sight in the dark woods. His way led over fallen 
trees and across cracks in the ground made by an earth- 
quake. Sometimes he had to crawl on his hands and 
knees, and the weather was very cold. 

About three miles away Crockett came upon a large 
stream of water. Without knowing its depth, he plunged 
in and waded across. The water was freezing cold, but 
on he went, It was very hard to find the dogs. When 
he reached them, they were barking up a big poplar 
tree, in the fork of which he could discern a black mass 
which he knew to be a bear. The night was so dark that 




Fight between Crockett and the Beai 



254 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Crockett could not see how to' shoot. He ' ' aimed at the 
lump'' and fired. The bear only crawled up higher and 
went out on a limb. The bear 's outline against the sky 
was now plainer, but a second shot failed to bring him 
down. While Crockett was loading for a third shot, the 
huge beast fell with a heavy thud at his feet. The bear 
was not dead and for a long time he had a fierce fight 
with the dogs. Crockett could see nothing but a black 
moving mass and the body of one of his dogs which was 
white. He fired again without effect. 

At last the struggling mass fell into one of the cracks 
in the ground. Crockett threw aside his gun, and, jump- 
ing into the chasm, passed his hand around under the 
bear's body till he felt the right spot. He then plunged 
his knife to its heart and all was still. 

Crockett now began to realize his condition. It was 
late at night and he was in a thick, dark forest far from 
camp. Besides, the weather was bitterly cold and his 
clothes, which were wet, began to freeze stiff upon his 
limbs. He tried to kindle a fire, but the poor fuel made 
no heat. He stamped and danced to keep his blood 
warm, but he was too tired to keep this up long. When he 
stopped, he felt a. numbness creep over him and he then 
knew that he was in danger of freezing to death. 

A crisis had come, and Crockett felt that something 
must be done. He had an iron constitution which had 
gone through the hardest trials, but he saw that death 
now stared him in the face. At length he found a small 
tree with a long slender body. Up this he would climb 



DAVY CROCKETT AS A BEAR HUNTER 255 

for some distance, and then, twining his limbs around 
it, he let himself slide rapidly to the ground. The fric- 
tion of the rapid descent and the exertion in climbing 
up again kept hirn warm. He continued this exercise 
till daylight, and thus saved his life. 

Crockett went back to camp the next morning, and in 
a day or two he finished this hunt and sent his friend 
home loaded down with bear meat. 

During the spring he went on other hunting expedi- 
tions, and in one month killed forty seven bears. The 
number slain by him during the year was one hundred 
and five. Crockett finally became so famous a hunter 
that it was said the animals would give up and come 
down a tree as soon as he pointed his gun at them. 



256 TENNESSEE HliSTORY STORIES 



Some Curious Mouse Catchers 

One of the early settlers of West Tennessee was Wil- 
liam Murphy. He came from South Carolina and was a 
hatter by trade. In that day hats were made near home 
by some man who followed the business of making hats. 
They were generally made of wool or fur, and would last 
a long while. There were no railroads then, and nearly 
everything that people needed was made at home. 

William Murphy, who was long, noted for being the 
best hat maker in W T est Tennessee, was a peculiar man. 
His oddest trait was that he used black snakes to keep 
the mice out of his shop, just as we use cats. He said 
that these snakes were better mousers than cats ; besides, 
they were not in the way and did not have to be fed. 

Mr. Murphy's shop was not a popular place for boys. 
A boy always felt very uncomfortable while sitting in it. 
He expected any moment to see a big black snake come 
up from the floor and wrap itself around his leg. Or it 
might drop down from the rafters and choke him to 
death. When a customer came in to get his new wool 
hat, he would probably find a snake coiled up in the 
chair where he was going to sit down. Snakes were in 
every corner and crack of the shop. They seemed to be 
perfectly at home. Their black eyes glistened like shin- 
ing beads. When they were disturbed, they darted little 



SOME CI RIO! 8 MOl 8E CATCHERS - : '" 

forked tongues out of their mouths in a ven uncomely 

'You may think that Mr. Murphy could not find such 
nncanny creatures companionable, Yet he said that 
they were less annoying to him than many people that 
he "knew. They were especially less meddlesome, he 
said, than certain bad boys that he had seen. 

Now and then Mr. Murphy got short of mousers; that 
is some of his snakes left him. He then shut up the 
shop and went snake hunting in the woods and fields 
One day he strolled out for this purpose and soon found 
a big black snake in the thick brush. This would be a 
rich prize, he thought, and the old hatter gave chase with 
all his might. The snake took refuge in a hollow pole. 
The old man concluded that it would be a good plan to 
stop up the hole and carry the pole home on his shoulder, 
and forthwith proceeded to do so. 

As he trudged along home, thinking of the great prize 
he had won, he felt something tighten around his throat. 
In fact he was choking. He could not realize what was 
the matter, but he called aloud, the best he could, for 

help. 

Some negro men, who were working in a field near 
by ran to the spot. They found Mr. Murphy ma condi- 
tion of great peril. The huge serpent haa crawled out 
at the other end of the pole. It had then come back along 
the pole and wrapped itself around its captor^ neck 
with a death-like grip. Mr. Murphy had tried m van, 



258 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

to pull the snake loose. The negroes put forth all their 
strength, but could effect nothing. Finally they took 
out their knives and cut the monster away. 

The old hatter expressed much gratitude to his deliv- 
erers, but deeply mourned the loss of so fine a mouse 
catcher. 



PRESIDENT POLK AND THE MEXICAN WAR 259 



President Polk and the Mexican War 

James Knox Polk was another Tennessee Scotch- 
Irishman who became President of the United States. 
After coming from Ireland, the Polks lived for a while 
in Maryland and then in Pennsylvania, They finally 
moved to North Carolina, where the future President 
was born in 1795. 

Polk's father moved with his family to Tennessee in 
1806 and settled among the pioneers on Duck river. 
Young Polk was educated in the schools near his home, 
and at the age of eighteen became a clerk in a country 
store. On account of delicate health, he soon gave up 
this position. His father then sent Mm to a training- 
school to prepare for college. After two years he en- 
tered the University of North Carolina, from which in 
due time he graduated. He had been an excellent stu- 
dent, and now he returned to his home in Tennessee to 
study law. , 

As a lawyer, Polk rose rapidly in his profession. He 
began to> practice in Columbia, He soon entered poli- 
tics and was elected to the lower house of the State leg- 
islature. There he became an able debater and was 
known as a friend and supporter of General Jackson. 

In 1825 Polk was sent to Congress. He was one of 
the youngest members in that body, and soon attracted 



260 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

attention by his ability. He was reelected to Congress 
till 1839. In the meantime he had been chosen speaker 
of the House of Representatives and had become one of 
the leading men in Congress. He was a hard worker and 
rose to distinction by reason of Iris merits. 

In 1839 Polk returned home to become governor of 
his adopted State. In the same year he had been men- 
tioned for the Vice Presidency, but was not selected. He 
was defeated for governor in 1841 and also in 1843 by 
James C. Jones. 

Polk was the first great stump speaker in Tennessee, 
and won his first race for governor by his ability in that 
line. In order to defeat him, Jones, who also was a good 
speaker, was named as his opponent. Polk was the' abler 
man, but Jones carried the people with him by his anec- 
dotes and fun. 

In 1844 Polk ran for the presidency on the Democratic 
ticket. He defeated the great Henry Clay, who was a 
Whig, though Clay carried Polk 's own State. Polk was 
nominated by a convention which sat at Baltimore, and 
the news was sent to Washington by telegraph. Pro- 
fessor Morse had just completed a line between Wash- 
ington and Baltimore, and this was one of the first dis- 
patches ever sent by telegraph. 

While Polk was President many stirring events oc- 
curred. Texas had thrown off the Mexican yoke some 
years before, and now desired to become a part of the 
American Union. Polk and his party favored this, and 
Texas was annexed by Congress just before Mr. Polk 



PRESIDENT POLK AND THE MEXICAN WAR 



261 



took his seat. Soon afterward the State was admitted to 
(he Union. 

The annexation of Texas brought on a war between the 




Tomb of President Polk 



United States and Mexico. The Mexican army held a 
part of the land which Texas claimed. President Polk 
ordered General Zachary Taylor, who commanded the 
army in Texas, to drive the Mexicans from the disputed 
territory. He did so and a number of battles were 
fought, in all of which the Americans were victorious. 



262 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Aaron- V. Brown was governor of Tennessee when 
the war began. President Polk asked him for soldiers to 
enter the American army to fight against Mexico. Gov- 
ernor Brown made a call upon Tennessee to furnish 
twenty-eight hundred volunteers. Thirty thousand men 
offered their services ! This was the spirit that earned 
for Tennessee the name of the ' ' Volunteer State. ' ' 

In a little less than two years President Polk brought 
the Mexican war to a successful close, and thereby added 
a large scope of territory to the United States. Prom it 
California, Arizona,, Utah, and other States and terri- 
tories have been formed. A dispute with England about 
the boundary line of Oregon was settled. The Smith- 
sonian Institution was founded and the Department of 
the Interior was established. Few other Presidents have 
done so much and done it so well. 

President Polk died a short time after the end of his 
term of office, and was buried in the lawn in front of his 
residence in Nashville. His remains were afterward re- 
moved to the capital grounds. 



OUR TAILOR PRESIDENT 



Our Tailor President 

Andrew Johnson was born at Raleigh, the capital of 
North Carolina, December 29, 1808. His father was 
drowned in trying to save the life of Colonel Thomas 
Henderson, who was his neighbor. Andy was then less 
than five years old. 

The family had little support while the father lived, 
but after his death, it was still worse with them. Mrs. 
Johnson found it very hard to make a living for herself 
and her children. As soon as her little son was old 
enough, he was put to work to help pay the family ex- 
penses. 

"Little Andy" had no chance to go to school. Be- 
sides, there were no good public schools in Raleigh at 
that time. Consequently he never went to school a day 
in his life. It has been said that his wife taught him to 
read ; but this is not true, though she did help Mm in his 
studies a great deal. 

At ten years of age Andrew was bound out to learn the 
tailor's trade. This means that his mother entered into 
a contract with a tailor to teach her son the trade, and 
that the boy should stay with the tailor as his own son 
until the trade was learned. It took seven years to be- 
come a good tailor. Andrew worked hard, and when he 
got a little money, he gave it to his mother. 



264 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Realizing the great need of an education, Andrew 
hoped for some means by which it could be obtained. 
A kind man often came to the tailor's shop and read to 
the men and boys as they sat at their work. The book 
which he read from contained the speeches of some of the 
great British statesmen like Pitt and Burke. Andrew 
could not yet read, but he got some ideas at that time, 
which he afterward put into his speeches in the halls of 
Congress. 

While the speeches of these great men were read in 
his hearing, a strong purpose arose in the mind of An- 
drew Johnson. It was that he, too, would become a great 
statesman. So, after his day's work was done, he de- 
voted his time to study. In a short time he learned to 
spell and read. To his great delight he then read the 
speeches of the British statesmen for himself. 

In the year 1826, young Johnson removed with his 
mother to the little town of Greeneville in East Ten- 
nessee, He had finished learning his trade and was 
what is called a journeyman tailor. He found it easy 
enough to get work, and people soon knew him as a good, 
honest workman. The young tailor could make a first- 
class suit of clothes. He never failed to do his work 
well. After he became President, his patrons would 
bring out their old clothes and say, "The President of 
the United States, Andrew Johnson, made this suit of 
clothes for me. ' ' 

Some time after Johnson came to Greeneville, he 
thought he could do better by setting up a business of his 



01 A* / \IIJ>H PRESIDE* I 



265 



own. So lie had a small wooden house built to serve as 
his shop. It stood a little out of the business part of the 
town. The house was very plain and it had only one 




Andrew Johnson's Tailor Shop 

small room. Over the door of the new shop was a sign 
painted on a small board. It read. 

"A. JOHNSON, TAlLOJir 

When the people of the little village walked down 
the street and read this sign, they had no thought that 
the poor, young tailor would afterward become chief 
ruler of our great republic. 



266 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

Young Johnson had not been in Greeneville a great 
while before he was married. His wife was a woman 
of much good sense. As she had great faith in her hus- 
band 's future, she undertook to advance his education. 
While the husband worked at his trade, his wife read to 
him. When the day's work was done, she gave him 
lessons in writing and arithmetic. Her pupil applied 
himself closely to his studies and soon became a very 
fair scholar. 

About this time a debating society was organized in 
Greeneville. It was a kind of training school for young 
men who wanted to become public speakers. Our young 
tailor joined the debating society at once. This was a 
fine opportunity for him. He felt at home in learning 
to make a speech. He kept in mind the speeches of the 
great British statesmen which he had read before. They 
served as a model for his efforts, and he was soon one of 
the best speakers in the debating society. 



II 



The young tailor now began to dream of the honors 
of office and public fame. In 1828 he was elected alder- 
man of the little town in which he lived. Two years 
later he was chosen mayor. He was a great friend of 
the common people from the start. He was one of them, 
and knew how to sympathize with them. This made 
him very popular, and he was elected to the State legisla- 



OUR TAILOR PRESIDENT 267 

ture several times. Soon after he became a member of 
this body, his ability as a leader was recognized. He 
was bold in advocating what he believed to be right and 
in condemning the wrong. 

It was now time to take another step upward. He had 
done so well that the people sent him to Congress. He 
took his seat at Washington in December, 1843. He was 
reelected again and again till 1853. 

He was then called upon to make the race for gov- 
ernor of Tennessee. His opponent was Gustavus A. 
Henry. The friends of Mr. Henry called him the 
"Eagle Orator" of Tennessee. The friends of Andrew 
Johnson said that they had a man who would "clip his 
wings." And he did. Johnson was triumphantly 
elected. His victory was repeated two years later. 

It seemed that nothing could stop the career of this 
wonderful man. In 1857 the legislature elected him to 
the United States Senate for the full team of six years. 
The poor tailor was now a great statesman and was 
known far and wide over the world. He had only one 
more step to take in order to reach the highest round of 
fame. 

In 1862 Mr. Johnson was appointed military gov- 
ernor of Tennessee. Two years later he was elected Vice 
President. At the death of Mr. Lincoln, in 1865, he be- 
came President. The highest round of honor had been 
reached, but even with this his restless nature was not con- 
tent. At the end of his presidential term he returned 



268 



TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



to his home in Tennessee and 
was again elected to the 
United States Senate. He 
died in 1875. 

Andrew Johnson never for- 
got his humble origin. He 
was always proud that he had 
been a working man, and his 
heart was always with the 
masses of the people. Hence 
he did not always please the 
political leaders on either 
side. He may have made 
some mistakes, but in one 
thing he was always right- 
he believed that government 
should be in the interest of all 
the people. 

In the quiet old town of 
Greeneville, the little tailor 
shop still stands. It is wea- 
ther-stained and going to de- 
cay, but above the door pass- 
ers-by yet read that wonder- 
ful sign, "A. JOHNSON, 
TAILOR." They stop and 
think: "From this tailor 
shop to the White House! 




Andrew Johnson's Tomb 



OUR TAILOR PRESIDENT 269 

Where, except in our own ' land of the free, ' could such 
an event have occurred ? ' ' 

On a high hill, one mile west of town, President John- 
son was buried. A beautiful marble monument marks 
the spot. It stands in full view of the Great Smoky 
Mountains. On the front panel are the words: 

l^ts faiifj fn % paipl* tutor fatabmd. 

At his own request his body was wrapped in the flag 
of his country. 



270 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 



More about Sevier 

Something happened in 1889 which takes ns back to 
our great pioneer soldier and statesman, John Sevier. 
But before giving an account of this event, something 
must be said of the later years of Sevier's life. 

Sevier was very popular, and after his first term as 
governor of Tennessee the people continued to elect him 
to that office as long as the law would permit. The 
limit was six years, but after being out of office two 
years, he was again chosen for three more terms of two 
years each. Thus he served for twelve years. No other 
man except William Carroll has been governor of Ten- 
nessee for so long a time. 

When he was first elected governor, Sevier felt that 
he would be expected to keep up the fine style of enter- 
taining introduced by Governor Blount. So he began 
to build an elegant brick mansion in Knoxville, which 
you remember was the capital of the State at that time. 
However, his means soon ran short, and after paying 
off Iris hands he stopped the work. He was too honest 
to risk going in debt. The unfinished house was sold 
and it was afterward completed by other parties. It is 
now occupied by Rev. James Park, and the line in the 
wall to which Sevier built may yet be plainly seen by a 
difference in the color of the brick. 



MORE ABOUT SEVIER 271 

Sevier decided to remain on his farm about five miles 
south of Knoxville. He rode into town on horseback 
early in the morning to attend to his business as gov- 
ernor. In the evening he rode back home in the same 
way. His residence was on the site of an old frontier 
fort in a hilly and picturesque region. Here he added to 
liis house one log room after another, and received his 
guests. He was a poor man, but his hospitality knew no 
bounds. His home was always full of old friends, old 
soldiers, and Indian chiefs. 

One of the larger cabins was used for a reception 
room. It is said that the puncheon floor of this room 
was, on special occasions, covered with a foreign carpet. 
Only once was the carpet allowed to remain down all 
night. This was on the occasion of the visit to America 
of Louis-Philippe and his brothers, the French princes, 
who were guests of the governor in 1797. Most of this 
we learn from Mr. J. R. Gilmore 's book on Sevier. 

After serving his last term as governor, Sevier retired 
to private life. He felt that he was growing old and 
needed rest. The people did not think so, and sent him 
to Congress. They elected him three times, but with the 
last election came his death, about which you will now 
read. 

In 1815 Sevier was sent by President Madison to ar- 
range some matters with the Creek Indians. While on 
this trip, he died of a fever and was buried near Fort 
Decatur, Alabama. He was seventy years old when he 
died and had served his conntrv fiftv-two vears. 



272 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

There, on the east bank of the Tallapoosa river, this 
great man lay in a neglected grave for seventy-four 
years, which was four years longer than the years of his 
life. The Tennessee people often thought how ungrate- 
ful they were, but nothing was done till 1889. 

In this year Tennessee had another governor who 
was much loved by the people, He was very popular, 
indeed, for he scattered sunshine wherever he went and 
made everybody happy. His name was Kobert L. Tay- 
lor, but the people just called him "Bob," in the same 
way that they called Sevier, ' ' Nollichucky Jack." 

During Governor Taylor's term in 1889, it was finally 
arranged to> bring Sevier's remains back to Tennessee 
and let them rest among his own people. This is the 
event which was alluded to in the beginning of this 
chapter. Governor Taylor went to Alabama with his 
staff and other distinguished Tennesseans. There he 
met the governor of the State, whoi turned over to him 
the remains of Sevier. This was all done in a solemn 
and appropriate way. 

The remains were then brought to Knoxville, which 
had been the capital of Tennessee while Sevier was gov- 
ernor, and near which he lived. Thousands of people 
met the procession and were present at the exercises. 
The casket was placed under a beautiful monument in 
the courthouse grounds, and thus a long-neglected duty 
was performed. 

Colonel W. A. Henderson of Knoxville relates a 
story which shows how popular Sevier was among the 



MORE A no I T SEVIER 



273 




Tonil» of Sevit 



I >e< > i >le. He learned the | »a r- 
ticulars from an old man 
who saw Sevier when he 
was a buy. The boy had 
heard so much of Sevier 
that he began to think the 
great man must be some su- 
perior being. This boy was 
at church one Sunday when, 
a man, out of breath, ran up 
and said that "Nollichucky 
Jack" was coming up the 
road. Everybody, includ- 
ing the minister, ran down 
to the road to see the sight. 
This church was in East 
Tennessee, and Sevier was 
on his way to Virginia. 

It was not long before 
Sevier rode up with a large 
body of men around him. 
I Le had a good memory and 
began to shake hands and 
call people by their names. 
He knew the, boy's father 
and greeted him heartily. 
He had never met the son. 
and, putting his hand on the 
little fellow's head, inquired 



274 TENNESSEE HISTORY STORIES 

who he was. The father said it was his son and gave 
his name. The boy was very proud to be noticed by the 
great man, but, as Sevier passed on, the boy looked up 
into his father's face and innocently said, "Why, father, 
'Chucky Jack is only a man ! ' ' 



Tennessee has many noted men and women to be 
proud of, but this little book does not propose to give 
you a full history of the State. Many events are not 
mentioned and the names of many noted men and women 
do not appear. You will learn of these in other and 
larger works. 

Tennessee always held a prominent place in the his- 
tory of our country. It has furnished more than its 
share of great soldiers and statesmen. There is scarcely 
a position under the government which has not been 
filled by a Tennessean. Few States have furnished so 
many Presidents. Tennessee's fame for the past is 
secure. What the future shall be rests with you— the 
boys and girls of the present. 



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